Cloak and Dagger
by Reptro
Summary: 20 years after Ash's journey, Team Rocket has been disbanded and peace is starting to settle throughout Kanto. From the ashes rises a new organization named Cloak that threatens peace once again. When Dr. Ronkowski is kidnapped by Cloak, his son Aadon must rescue him from his past. CANCELLED for now.
1. In the Darkness

_**[6 Years Ago]**  
><em>

_"Dad, where are you going?" the voice of a little boy cried out from under his blanket sheets. __In response, a man turned his form around and made his way to the bed where the boy had slept soundly before hearing the creak of the door._

_"To a conference, my boy. It's that time of the year again," the man replied, scratching his thinning pale-brown hair sheepishly._

_"But I'll miss you!" the boy whined as water formed in his eyes._

_Taking a wooden chair, the man sat down next to his son. "Aadon, you know I do this every year. You can manage without me, you little rascal."_

_"You mean everything to me, daddy!" the boy murmured softly as more water trickled down his face._

_"How can I make it up to you, lad? You know I have to go to this conference," the man frowned, not wanting to leave his son devastated. Aadon had always been attached to him for as long as he could remember._

_"Tell me that story again," Aadon sniffled. By this time, he had slowly taken off his blue blanket sheets and was now sitting in a cross-legged position, much to the surprise of the man. "You know, the one about the King and the Vulpix."_

_The man chuckled. "Alright you little trickster, but just this once, otherwise I'm going to be late." The man looked up, resting his head on his palm. "Now let's see here...Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled his kingdom. Everybody disliked the king and wanted to take away his throne, but then-"_

_"He turned good!" Aadon yelled, immediately closing his mouth. The clock had almost struck ten and neither Aadon nor his dad wanted to wake up Aadon's mother from her beauty sleep. That was a death wish._

_"Precisely," the man whispered with a smile on his face. "As months went by, the subjects gathered the courage to ask their king why he had turned good." _

_"And what did he say?" Aadon said, barely hiding his excitement from the very thought of hearing his favorite part._

_"Well my boy, he said that while he was in the woods, he saw a Growlithe chasing a Vulpix. Luckily, the Vulpix got into the hole, but not before getting bitten on the leg by the Growlithe."_

_"That Growlithe is a meanie!" Aadon frowned._

_"Ah, but the very next day, the king ran into the same Growlithe in the woods, who itself was now being chased by a man carrying a bag of stolen goods. Before the Growlithe escaped, the man managed to break its leg." Aadon's dad scratched at his head once more, trying to think of what happened next._

_"And then the thief was taken to jail by the nice policemen, wasn't he?" Aadon answered, to which the man chuckled once more. _

_"That's correct, and so the moral of the story is-" the man was interrupted. _

_"Evil is always punished, and so you should never be evil!" Aadon finished for the old man, who had gotten out of his chair and buttoned up his black coat. _

_"And for that reason, my boy, I do believe that there are two types of people in this world: evil-doers and Justice-bringers," the man explained. _

_"How are you so smart, daddy?" Aadon questioned._

_"To tell you the truth boy, no one knows the world for sure! But I want you to promise me one thing." Aadon's dad leaned closer as he tucked the 8-year-old boy into bed._

_"What is it, daddy?" Aadon asked with a blank expression his face._

_"Of those two types of people, I hope you're a justice-bringer!" Aadon's dad laughed._

_"Cool! I wanna be a superhero!" Aadon said excitedly, lowering his voice slowly when he realized how loud he had shouted. _

_"Even a regular person can be a hero, one act of kindness at a time. Whether you're a hero for doing something, or you're a hero to somebody for something you may have done, you're still a hero." Aadon's dad looked down at his wrist. "Oh golly! Look at the time! I'm going to have to scramble."_

_"See you in a few days, Aadon. Take care of you're mother," the man laughed as he put on his khaki-colored bucket hat. "One day you'll be wearing the hats in his house."_

_As the man went out the door, he reached his hand back in to turn off the light._

_"Dad?" Aadon said softly._

_"Yes, lad?" _

_"You're my hero."_

_"Thanks. You're my hero too, " the man smiled._

_"Really dad?" Aadon asked, looking up at the ceiling as he faded away into sleep. _

_"Absolutely! Because if I need help, you're my hero!" the man laughed._

_"And you're mine when I need you're help," Aadon mumbled as he drifted off into sleep._

* * *

><p><strong>[Lavender Town-Present Day]<strong>

Not a single cloud was in sight that day, and the weather was sunny. For Lavender Town's elders, this usually meant something inauspicious had happened, because the air wasn't covered with fog or coldness as it was each morning. Usually not a believer of stick-wielding shamans over science, even Aadon Ronkowski had come to believe this was true.

Kneeling alongside the walls of his front porch, the boy wore tan cargo pants, a black t-shirt, grey running sneakers, and a khaki-colored bucket hat in top of his short and scruffy black hair.

Aadon flashed his eyes once more towards the sky, wishing he had the ability to take flight like a Pidgey or Spearow and soar into the skies. Maybe then he could forget about his troubles. Just maybe he would be able to ignore the police interrogating his mother, or the scene that had unfolded in the early hours of the night. Maybe then his father wouldn't have been kidnapped.

Just maybe he wouldn't have to be the hero.

"Where are you, dad?" Aadon asked, the memories of the night still flashing in his head. "I know you need me to be the hero..but I need you too. I need my hero to be a hero."

Aadon kept his head down, but he could hear the reporters making headlines and the flashing of cameras in front of the home of the renowned scientist who only gave and never took, Dr. Theodore Ronkowski. The only things he has ever accepted were for the well being of his family and the physical needs to create his latest innovations.

"Excuse me, young boy," a female voice said. Aadon looked up to find a women dressed in matching blue coat and business skirt holding a microphone to his face.

"You are his son, correct?" she asked. Before Aadon could answer, another women, sporting blonde hair in a bun, pushed the reporters off. "We will take no more questions from you, and this applies to the rest of you reporters!"

The blonde-haired women looked exhausted and wore matching grey jogging pants and sweater, which she wore for good reason because Lavender Town often dropped under 20 degrees at night.

"Let's go inside, boy," the women quietly said.

"Ok mom," Aadon replied quietly, closing the gateway for the surrounding fence and heading inside.

Inside, several police officers were carefully examining the walls, looking for even the slightest possible piece of evidence that would direct them towards some direction in search of their answer.

"Can you tell us who may have done this? Or why they may have done it?" a man in a dark-blue police uniform questioned, holding a notepad in his hand.

"I've told you before that I can't make out who would have done this, but I know for sure that my husband has had several enemies in the past...probably jealous of his innovations," Mrs. Ronkowski stated, slowly fading out into mumbles with each word, probably from lack of beauty sleep.

Another younger-looking officer walked in between the two, holding his own notepad. "Could it have been Cloak, sir? Crime reports dealing with the name have gone off the charts in recent months!"

"Cloak?" Aadon asked. The senior officer turned his head towards the black-haired boy.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't heard about them yet. Only in the recent several months have their attacks increased from minor crime reports to multiple major cases nearly each day," the officer explained. "They started their recent crime wave with fierceness and swiftness so strong that nobody could have seen it coming!"

"Almost like a dagger," the younger officer commented.

"Did you all witness anything?" the senior officer asked.

"I was fast asleep, but I could have sworn I had a strange nightmare about Gengars," Mrs. Ronkowski claimed.

"This isn't good," Aadon thought. "There's a chance that my dad might be in the hands of dangerous criminals who want him...but for what?"

As the officers talked on, Aadon went to his father's office, which was ironically empty despite being the last place the scientist had been spotted. Aadon assumed the officers would eventually get to the harder forensic work later, ultimately due to their laziness.

His father's office was completely clean. The place where his father had last been spotted was completely spotless, except for several strange claw marks that covered his cabinet and several files that had fallen over.

"Claw marks? I wouldn't want to run into the creature that made those things," Aadon shuddered as chills past down his spine almost abnormally. That wasn't normal even for Aadon. "W-who's there?"

Suddenly, Aadon felt a faint form touch his back, and he turned around.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" a large and devilish illusion screamed. The illusion was slightly transparent, but Aadon had not noticed this out of sheer fright.

"AHHHHH!" Aadon yelled, nearly tripping over a stack of files while grabbing items to throw. Aadon opened his eyes again to see a black ball of ghostly matter surrounded by a purple glow of smog.

"Gaasstly," the creature said in a laughing manner.

"Not funny," Aadon frowned. "You know how jumpy I am Gastly. You promised you wouldn't do that!"

"Gas.." Gastly frowned.

"You know what happened, and if you want to stay here, then PLEASE help me investigate," Aadon ordered. Gastly nodded, always being in favor of Aadon's commands. The Ghost-type turned its head around, noticing the claw marks. "Gas?"

"What is it, Gastly? Aadon turned around.

"Gas," Gastly said, moving back and forth next to the claw marks.

"Don't waste my time, Gastly," Aadon mumbled, turning around once more to his father's computer desk, only to have Gastly catch his attention again by making an illusion of an arm moving near the claw marks.

"And what does that mean?" Aadon asked impatiently.

"Gas?" Gastly said, ending its small illusion.

"Never mind," Aadon said, turning around and not paying attention to Gastly's hand motions.

Gastly's face slowly changed into an angry frown, and it clawed at the wall to get Aadon's attention. This made Aadon jump in surprise, who had never seen the playful Gastly act in rage.

"Gastly? What are you-" Aadon suddenly focused on the claw marks Gastly had made and the ones on the cabinet. "One and the same.."

Aadon stood in complete shock upon the revelation. "The room was clean and filled with so little evidence because it wasn't a man who kidnapped my dad...it was a Ghost Pokemon from the tower."

Gastly nodded, disappearing immediately after.

"Gastly? Oh, never mind that! I have to tell the cops about this so they can find my dad." Aadon rushed downstairs and told the police of his entire revelation, but they would not believe the words of a 14-year-old nor believe the two claw marks belonged to Ghost Pokemon and not physical thieves.

"Kids and their imaginations," the senior officer scoffed. "If you have any more PHYSICAL proof, then do not hesitate to call us." With that said, the officers in the building huddled outside. Moments after, Aadon heard the sound of multiple engine motors fading away.

"But-" Aadon pleaded, but Mrs. Ronkowski put her finger out, not wanting to hear another word.

"What was the need of spinning a yarn like that?" Mrs. Ronkowski shouted. "Where do you get your imagination from? This is a serious case! Do you care nothing about your father?"

Aadon had taken enough accusations. "I loved him just as much as you did! He was my father just as much as he was your husband!"

"Oh, you don't even know the half of it, boy!" Mrs. Ronkowski shouted.

"All I know is that he needs me-"

"He doesn't need a 14-year-old boy! My husband needs the Kanto police force to save him from those goons!"

"He was my hero, and now I need to be his! If you wanna wait around like a damn coward, then that's fine by me!"

"Go to your room and think about what you've said, you stupid child!" Mrs. Ronkowski yelled, her finger pointing up the staircase. Why did she always do this to him? Having heard enough, Aadon was at his breaking point

"You've said enough!" Aadon shouted in anger, stomping up the stairs and into his small room.

How dare she tell him what to do? Who was she to him?

Later that night, Aadon began packing his black backpack with food, water, a flashlight, first aid, and other provisions he would need for where he was going. During his preparation, he had failed to notice that Gastly had been wandering around his room without saying a word.

"You're welcome to come along, Gastly," Aadon said quietly, with little emotion left in his stubborn mind. "If not, you can take my mother's side and hate my father."

"Gastly?" Gastly asked in confusion.

"Pokemon Tower. I believe those claw marks lead to Pokemon Tower."

"Gas?" Gastly asked once more.

"I need to stay in there long enough to find my next lead. If the police won't believe me, I'm going to have to do something myself so the cops and my mom will believe me." Aadon zipped his backpack, now full with provisions, and put it on his back. He put his bucket hat on his head.

"I know I've never done anything without you dad..but I'm your hero and you need me right now," Aadon mumbled quietly to himself.

"Gas?" Gastly questioned once again.

"I'm not coming home," Aadon said almost stubbornly. "I won't come home until I find him and prove to the world that I can do this."

* * *

><p><strong>[Pokemon Tower-11:46 PM]<strong>

Although Pokemon Tower had a service time, this was only for those who wanted official funeral services for their Pokemon. Pokemon Tower stood open 24 hours a day, donning a sign at the front door stating "Lavender Town is not responsible for any occurrences or events that may do physical or mental damage to your health. Arceus bless you, and welcome to Pokemon Tower."

Just reading the sign made Aadon shudder with fear, although he couldn't tell whether this was Gastly or his own emotion.

With no lights in the Pokemon Tower at night and no person willing to venture there at night, Aadon relied solely on his flashlight and his Gastly for help.

"G-Gastly? A-are you there?" Aadon asked softly.

"Gas.." Gastly said almost sarcastically.

"Not f-funn-" Suddenly, a loud slam interrupted both of them. Aadon turned his flashlight across the grounds, where he saw nothing but more tombstones covered by the very same thin fog that Lavender Town had missed out on early in the morning.

"Ghost!" Aadon jumped, nearly falling over. He turned his flashlight back to Gastly.

"Gas..." Gastly shook its head, looking like it wanted to face-palm itself..that is, if it had physical arms.

"I'll l-look again in that direction," Aadon gulped. Scanning his flashlight forward in the pitch dark once more, he noticed a open door leading to a dimly light hallway.

As he made his way towards the door slowly, another chill took over his spine.

"Not funny, Gastly," Aadon moaned in fear.

"Gas.." Gastly giggled.

When Aadon went into the door, he heard the door slam once more, only louder and with more intensity than before.

"What...mean...marks," Aadon heard through the walls, not being able to catch every word because of the muffled effect that came through the walls. As Aadon ventured deeper into the dark hallway, he saw more graves.

"You left evidence there, you bloody imbeciles?" said a gruff voice loudly. Aadon shivered as he directed his head to the direction of the voice. He slowly planted his right ear on the wall, not wanting to take a risk.

"And you call yourselves members of Cloak?" the voice spoke again, this time more calm and collected.

"W-we're sorry, boss!" a soft and fearing voice said. Aadon immediately inferred that the "scientist" was his dad.

"Would we want the police to have any more evidence of where we're taking him?" the gruff voice exclaimed.

"Saffron City? I hear they're going to run some tests at our headquarters there," another deeper voice said.

"Silence. Being a secretive organization means even the walls have ears." the gruff voice scolded in his strangely tranquil tone.

"Sorry boss," the deep voice said in a sad tone.

"Saffron?" Aadon thought. "But what are they going to do with him?"

Aadon took one step backwards, unprecedentedly falling over the weight of his backpack and hitting his head on a pipe.

"What was that?" the gruff voice said alarmingly.

"The walls have ears, boss!" the deeper voice said, getting louder and eventually echoing into the same room Aadon was in.

"Run, Gastly," Aadon mumbled. Gastly nodded, and disappeared.

"Well...well...well..lookie what we have here. Another runt for the scrap pile?" the deeper voice said in Aadon's ear, although the voice was starting to fade.

Aadon heard the three voices discussing and coming together, and eventually they echoed louder than before. His eyes began to feel heavy, and he slowly faded away into blackness, his fate left uncertain.

* * *

><p><strong>Update [82/2014]: This message is for previous readers. I've updated this chapter to cater to future chapters and fix plot holes. Some of the dialogue has seen renovation as well. More updates will come in the future.**


	2. Rough and Rocky Motives!

**[Ronkowski Residence-7:52 AM]**

Mrs. Ronkowski had been pacing back and forth near his room for several minutes, reconsidering her actions from the day before over and over. She heard not a sound from his room, thinking he may have fallen asleep or did not want to see her.

"The boy must have cried himself to sleep," Mrs. Ronkowski thought, feeling slightly guilty for taking out her stress and anger on Aadon. "I may not like his company most of the time, but that was no excuse for my actions."

Mrs. Ronkowski sighed. "With my husband gone, however, I only think it's fair that I take responsibility for Aadon until the coppers get back. Oh what am I saying? It's not like I don't feed him or talk to him!"

"I have to go in there and apologize for what I've done. Ted would never forgive me if something happened to Aadon-" Mrs. Ronkowski stopped, feeling a huge chill engulf her body.

"What in the name of Arceus was that?" Mrs. Ronkowski said fearfully. Turning around, she saw a transparent hand touching her shoulder.

"G-G-" Mrs. Ronkowski could say no more, her face turning pale from seeing Gastly.

"Gast!" Gastly said, waving the mirage hand around to get the blonde-haired woman's attention.

"GO AWAY!" Mrs. Ronkowski roared, grabbing a potted vase beside her and tossing it at the Ghost-type. In her state of fear and confusion, Mrs. Ronkowski failed realize that Gastly was making its way towards her husband's room.

"Stop!" Mrs. Ronkowski yelled, her lungs out of air from screaming at Gastly. She chased after the Ghost type, following him across the small hallway and slamming through Dr. Ronkowski's office room. In the process, the middle-aged women clumsily fell over a stack of files.

"What is the meaning of-" Mrs. Ronkowski stopped, taking a deep breath when realizing that she had forgotten to breathe, and looked up. Gastly nudged towards the large cabinet in Dr. Ronkowski's room. Three claw marks sank into the wooden cabinet, as well as three claw marks on the wall to the left of it.

"What?" Mrs. Ronkowski said in confusion, but then came to the conclusion that Gastly had led her there to see the very same marks that she had scolded Aadon about. "But...that means that Aadon was right?"

"Gas.." Gastly said, tears forming in its eyes as if it had finally accomplished a long and hard task. The Ghost type made its way towards a photo on Dr. Ronkowski's desk and threw it to the floor.

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Ronkowski asked, her skin tone now having returned to its golden white. Carefully examining the photo, Mrs. Ronkowski could not believe the truth circulating her mind. "Ted would never forgive me..."

Dropping the photo, the blonde-haired woman ran across he hallway and barged into Aadon's room. "Empty!"

"Gastly..." Gastly cried out as if it felt regret from having come to Mrs. Ronkowski instead of trying to save Aadon. Often lonely and alienated from other ghosts at Pokemon tower, Gastly had found a friend in Aadon, who himself held the title of outcast. And now, Gastly had chosen to abandon Aadon during his time of need.

"Officer? Please come now!" Mrs. Ronkowski's voice shouted from beyond the doors of Aadon's room.

* * *

><p><strong>[Rock Tunnel-9:46 AM]<strong>

Aadon felt blissful. For several moments, he felt like he was sleeping soundly in bed at his home in Lavender, only to be scared awake by Gastly. He would then eat breakfast and head over to his father's room to see the current status of his innovations and mess around with a few contraptions. As a result, Aadon had developed a fond like for developing things over the years.

Then it hit him as heaviness overtook him. Suddenly, he felt exhausted, his eyes heavy and pried shut by the crust that had formed around them. Lifting his head without opening his eyes, he heard the sound of a motor. Turning his head around, he was pushed around by something that felt like rough human palms. The sound of the motor now vibrated underneath him.

Aadon came to the conclusion that he was in a vehicle as he slowly opened his eyes to meet the face of a skinhead with a goatee strapped on his face. He looked fairly bulky, his head seeming to pop out of his large and muscular neck.

"Boss, the kid is awake," the skinhead said. Aadon immediately recognized his voice from earlier. With his mouth wide open, Aadon scanned his new settings: the rays of the sun did not hit the truck as it was covered by a light-green tarp. "Anybody who messes with us..never gets away with it. Hear me boy?"

"Why are we driving around in this scrap, boss?" asked the soft and fearing voice from the night before.

"I thought we debriefed on this issue last night, imbecile! The cops will recognize us if we use one of our own vehicles," the gruff voice said angrily from behind the curtains shrouding the front of the truck. Turning to his right, Aadon saw the figures of one of the other voices. The soft and fearing voice had spiky red hair and wore a grey vest, a black shirt, black pants, and a black fedora. He paled in weight and muscle when compared to his muscular counterpart who wore the same outfit.

A few minutes of silence went by as the engine roared past the rocky pass. Eventually, the two mercenaries broke the peace and began conversing.

Living within the boundaries of Lavender Town as long as he could remember, Aadon knew very little about the rocky and rugged pass the truck was passing through . However, while listening to the conversations between the two mercenaries, he heard one of the mercenaries whisper about a certain "Rock Tunnel."

Turning over to his left for the first time, Aadon saw his backpack. Despite trying his absolute best to pacify his shaking body, he couldn't help but greatly fear his kidnappers. "W-what do y-you guys want with m-me?"

"What do you want with us?!" the muscular mercenary replied in a mocking tone. "After all, we were at Pokemon Tower first, kid."

"The last thing you wanted to do was probably get a handshake," the skinny mercenary said. "Unless your into Cloak mercenaries and all that good stuff."

"Pipe down, you fools." the gruff voice commanded from the front of the truck. "Only if I am returned to headquarters without so much as a scratch will you get paid."

"Right, boss," the muscular mercenary responded, averting eye contact from the curtain and looking at his partner, who simply nodded.

"These guys are gonna kill me!" Aadon thought as a cold sweat ran down his chest. "Everything I have is there, but how can I make my move and escape this truck?"

* * *

><p><strong>[Cerulean Side of Rock Tunnel-11:54 AM]<strong>

Two officers sat on chairs, watching the day go by as they stared into the farthest reaches of the sky. One officer wore a green leather jacket, white undershirt, black jeans, and a blue police cap. The other, looking slightly younger, wore a Kanto police uniform with the buttons on the shirt open.

"What did I ever do to get posted here? The other squads in our department have gone down to Lavender Town," the officer sighed.

"With all due respect, sir-"

"You know that I don't like being called 'sir'. Respecting titles make me feel old and make my spine tingle." The officer smiled, tipping his police cap downwards so that they covered his emerald eyes from the heat of the sun. "Kent please."

"I think that its because of that last case with the bubble bath," the rookie officer sitting next to Kent finished.

"It shouldn't be a determining case, Byrd!" Kent whined, standing up and taking out his brown pipe. "And it was fun while it lasted."

"And what a first case that was for me," Byrd said with a finger on his chin. "Is that one of the bubble pipes from that whole thing?"

"I've always wanted to be like those detectives in the movies," Kent grinned. "So I kept it. Does it make me look legit or what?"

"If I lied, would that make you feel better?" Byrd asked with a deep sigh as he stared off into the sun.

"As it is, smoking is bad for your health," Kent mumbled, his fake cigar making bubbles all the while. "Should give my Pokemon some fresh air. Espeon! Umbreon! Come on out!" Kent tossed circular objects into the air.

"Espeon!" said the violet-colored Pokemon with two tails and glowing purple eyes. Espeon stood in front of its trainer, looking across the empty path.

"Umbreon!" said the black-colored Pokemon with gold rings covering its body and fearsome red eyes contrasting that of Espeon.

"Growlithe, come on out," Byrd shouted. Throwing his Pokeball down, a flash of light revealed an orange Pokemon with black stripes and golden fur covering its body.

"Still a Growlithe?" Kent teased.

"Sir, you know it-" Byrd stopped, annoying Kent.

"What is-"

"Shhhh," Byrd whispered. "Do you hear that engine?" Suddenly, even the Pokemon were quiet. The only noise came from the gusty winds picking up dust and rocks hitting the dry ground.

As the noise got louder, Espeon shouted. "Espy! Espy!" the Psychic type pointed its tail in the direction of the noise. Suddenly, from across the last visible corner of the narrow pass came a large convoy truck with a green tarp covering, ready to cross the bridge that stood above the river. The engine of the vehicle made little noise over the roar of the large waterfall to the right of the bridge.

Noticing the two officers, the truck came to a stop across the bridge.

* * *

><p><strong>[Cerulean Side of Rock Tunnel-12:04 PM]<strong>

"It's some rookie officers," the large mercenary deduced. The large mercenary held out his Pokeball to Aadon. "If you squeal, I'll beat you with my Machoke."

Aadon moaned through the fold that had been wrapped around his mouth. Suddenly, a wet sensation formed near Aadon's pants. Aadon, too exhausted to move, could not understand why the mercenaries were laughing.

"Hey, the kid wet himself!" the large mercenary declared, laughing loudly. Aadon blushed, not completely out of fear, but with a touch of shame included.

"Do what must be done," the gruff voice ordered from behind the curtain. "They already know that we are from Cloak, as no vehicles have been allowed into this pass for the last several weeks."

"They're coming across the bridge!" the skinny mercenary said, coming from the right side of the convoy's rear. "I'll settle this bribe."

As Officer Kent approached along with his blue-uniformed counterpart, they met face-to-face with the skinny mercenary.

"Cloak. I wouldn't even spit in your direction," Kent spat. "Scumbags like you can be smelled for miles."

"Which movie was that from, Kent?" Byrd asked, making Kent face-palm. Meanwhile, the skinny mercenary watched in confusion. Espeon, Umbreon, and Growlithe couldn't help but sweat drop.

"I was getting into my role!" Kent shouted. "Whatever it is! Listen up Cloak!"

"We don't accept bribes!" Byrd finished.

"We're on the honest side of the law!" Kent shouted, spitting in skinny mercenary's face. As Kent and Byrd exclaimed this, the large mercenary took a step out of the vehicle, followed by the gruff-voiced leader.

"Don't lock horns with us, officer," the large mercenary warned, standing in front of Kent and taking a Pokeball off of his waist belt.

"Espeon! Umbreon! Ready for battle?" Kent grinned. Both Pokemon nodded. "Step out of this one, Byrd."

"If you insist, Kent," Byrd complied.

Aadon wanted to try and crawl out, but both his arms and legs were tied, rendering him useless.

"Machoke, come out now!" yelled the large mercenary. A large, muscular, and blue Pokemon with a belt around its waist stood ready for battle.

"Kadabra, get out here!" yelled the skinny mercenary. A golden fox-like Pokemon with a spoon in its hand stood beside its muscular counterpart.

"Machoke, slam them!" commanded the large mercenary. By this time, Kent and Byrd had stepped back, creating room for a battle despite the pass being narrow. Machoke charged at its opponents.

"Psychic, Espeon!" Kent ordered. Espeon focused, firing a wave of telekinetic energy strong enough to push several small rocks back at the trucks.

"Counter Espeon's Psychic with yours, Kadabra!" the skinny mercenaryed shouted. Kadabra held its spoon straight upwards, releasing a similar wave of energy that shot forwards, colliding with Espeon's attack and creating a small explosion.

"Stand steady and use Psybeam, Espeon!" Kent ordered. Espeon held firm, firing a beam of Psychic energy at Machoke. Machoke evaded the attack. The Psybeam hit the rocky walls to the right of the truck, barely missing the front windows.

"Karate Chop on Umbreon!" Machoke charged forwards, hitting Umbreon in the chest. Umbreon skid back several feet, groaning slightly in pain.

"Espeon! Quick Attack!" Espeon sprung forward, hitting Machoke near the waist and knocking the Fighting type Pokemon backwards. Machoke did not flinch, taking minimal damage from the attack.

"Kadabra, use Psybeam!" the skinny mercenary quickly yelled. Kadabra launched another wave at the defenseless Espeon.

"Umbreon, stand in front of Espeon!" The Dark type Pokemon immediately took a step in front of Espeon. The Psybeam collided with Umbreon, doing no damage and disappearing.

"Dark types don't take Psychic damage," Kent grinned.

"Rattatas, that slipped my mind!" the large mercenary shouted in anger. "Cross Chop, Machoke!" Machoke sprinted towards Umbreon, ready to chop the Dark type across the neck.

"Agility, Umbreon," Kent ordered calmly. Umbreon dodged swiftly to the left, leaving Machoke to slam the ground, which made cracks in the hard ground.

"Psychic on Espeon, full force!" the skinny mercenary ordered hastily as Kadabra prepared another wave.

"Shadow Ball on Kadabra!" Espeon struggled, preparing a powerful mass of dark energy.

"Umbreon, jump in front of the Psychic!" Umbreon feinted to the right, absorbing the mass of Psychic energy with no trouble.

"Machoke, Low Kick!" Machoke slam its foot into the ground in rage, readying a Low Kick.

"Jump and use Psychic, Umbreon!" Umbreon launched a wave of Psychic at Machoke, hitting the Fighting type, which sent it flying back into the truck and knocked out one of the wheels. Machoke laid still, having been knocked out as well.

"What? Umbreon using Psychic and Espeon using Shadow Ball?" the gruff-voiced mercenary said with a hint of surprise in his tone. "And that attack knocked out one of our wheels! Unacceptable!"

"You never cease to amaze me, Kent," Byrd thought.

"Kadabra stop-"

"Did you forget about my Shadow Ball?" Kent laughed, making the skinny mercenary turn pale.

"Fire now, Espeon!"

"ESSSSPYY!" Espeon screamed as it catapulted the ball of dark energy at Kadabra with incredible velocity, leaving the Psychic Pokemon no room to evade. The attack collided with the Psychic type, knocking it out.

Meanwhile, Aadon laid motionless, unable to decipher which side the victory belonged to. Suddenly, a rough hand grabbed him by the collar of his t-shirt.

"Looks like we win," Kent laughed as the mercenaries recalled their Pokemon.

"Not quite, you still have to face me," a gruff voice said in a bizarrely devious manner, now outside of the vehicle.

"I can take whatever you dish at my team," Kent replied calmly. When the man fully appeared in front of Kent, the officers eyes widened. He saw not a Pokeball in the hands of the man, but a young child with a khaki-colored bucket hat. "Leave kids out of this!"

The man had a black coat buttoned with gold buttons, black pants, and a dark-black hat covering his head. His facial features remained shrouded by a gray bandana on his face.

"One of the sad parts about being a detective from the old movies," Byrd said with a stressful tone.

"Why does his voice and everything around him feel so familiar?" thought Kent.

"Now then, you come to the side of the bridge with our truck. We won't need this scrap heap if two rookie officers are standing in our way. No..I think I'll call one of our vehicles," the shrouded leader of the Cloak mercenaries said evilly.

Aadon struggled, trying to escape the clutches of his captor.

"Struggle anymore, and you'll be more than a few feet under this bridge" the leader hissed into the boy's ear, making him shudder. Tears formed around Aadon's eyes, as he desperately remained quiet.

"Now then, me and my two men will be on our way," the leader exclaimed over the roar of the waterfall, which had become louder after the heat of the battle had faded away. "We had intended to walk on foot from here, anyways. This bridge would never be able to support this old scrap pile."

"I want to stop him! It's just a rock!" Kent thought angrily. "But I can't see the kid lose his face. What do I do?" Kent turned to Byrd, who looked just as confused and angry as the two of them went over to the truck's side of the bridge while the Cloak members made their way to the side of the bridge leading to Cerulean City.

The bridge creaked loudly, only held up by several cables. The waterfall itself stood fairly high up, the bottom being covered by the mist of the falls.

When the leader, Aadon, and the mercenaries finished trading sides, the leader took Aadon to the bridge. "As promised, the boy will be let go."

The leader pushed Aadon, untying his legs and arms. The boy fastened his bucket hat and made his way across the bridge.

"That's it! Slowly kid!" Kent warned, not noticing the grim smile on the leader's shadowed face. Aadon had nearly made his way to the middle of the long bridge, when the leader released one of his Pokemon. The light-green Pokemon had two sharp blades as arms.

"Scyther...cut the cables," the leader ordered. Scyther began slicing the cables off the bridge, each small cable giving away rapidly because of age.

Aadon had wanted to run, but he feared this would have only made things worse. "H-help me."

"Just run, kid! Can you hear me?" Kent shouted, panicking.

"No, they can't..." Byrd said, having given up hope.

"Enjoy your swim, kid." the masked man said. "Return Scyther."

Moments after the bug type returned to the Pokeball, the last cable gave away, and the bridge fell. Aadon attempted to grab the wooden planks making up the bridge, but could not grip any of them. His hands had begun to bleed from the cuts caused by the wood.

Aadon slid downwards, screaming as he fell into the mist below. The leader disposed of Aadon's items, throwing the black backpack into the depths as well.

In the midst of the bridge's destruction, the three men escaped. Unable to pursue, Kent and Byrd stood silently for several moments along with their Pokemon.

"That leader has a Scyther-could it really be him?" thought Kent as he gazed upon the destroyed bridge before taking out his communicator.

* * *

><p><strong>[Unknown Location-3:34 PM]<strong>

A man washed his face at the banks of Celeste gorge. "Another day with nothing earned," the man sighed, splashing water on his rugged face and washing his ruff brown hair. He wore a half-zipped black jacket over a light blue v neck, dark green parachute pants, and a torn-white headband on his forehead. Moving his grey eyes downwards, he looked into his reflection and scooped up more water.

"I'm sure to get one some other day," the man said, sounding slightly young despite having a baritone voice. "There's plenty of fish in the sea-" Suddenly, the man paused. He felt something very abnormally soft in his palms.

Opening his eyes, he saw a young boy with short and ruff black hair wearing a khaki bucket hat, a black t-shirt, and tan cargo pants. Dragging the boy upwards, the man noticed that the boy had multiple cuts and bruises across his arms and hands, as well as several on his young face.

"What good is this to me?" the man groaned. "I don't do business with these things!" It was then that the man saw a black backpack floating beside the boy.

"That backpack looks fat with supplies! I wonder what's in there?" the man exclaimed. "Maybe some good food. I haven't eaten anything but some biscuits in the last few days!"

Dragging the boy's body entirely up along with his black backpack, the man scanned the boy's bag once more. "I can't steal it directly."

Turning his head around, he looked at the boy. "It's not the Warner Easton style of action. If that ain't the plan, my name ain't Warner Easton."

Warner laughed, looking closely at the boy, who was sound asleep. "He looks like he's never been out of a city! This one should be easy."

* * *

><p><strong>Update[82/2014]: Previous readers, I have fixed some continuity issues today and I will continue to do so in future chapters if I see any mistakes. New readers may continue to ignore these updates. **


	3. The Calm of the Storm

**[Celeste Gorge-8:36 PM]**

Aadon cringed as he slowly opened his eyes, which were under pressure from exhaustion. Touching his head, the boy was slightly relieved to know that his father's bucket hat remained intact. In a quick flash, the events of the morning overtook Aadon, and he opened his eyes wide and stood up.

Aadon scanned the area around him. There were large trees to his left, covering a path that lead to nothing but darkness. To his right, there was a roaring body of water that reflected the full moon.

"W-where am I? What happened to my stuff?" Aadon muttered quietly.

"So you're awake kid," a rough but young-sounding baritone voice asked.

Aadon shivered from fear when he realized that he wasn't alone, turning to his head to the location of the sound in the process. What Aadon saw was a man in a black jacket, dark green parachute pants, and a white headband dipping his feet in the bank. Aadon had not noticed him before because the clothing gave him a stealthy appearance.

"W-who the heck are you?" Aadon shivered once more. Aadon stood up, moving slowly towards his backpack, which was lying beside the strange young man.

"Don't get startled kid, I'm no murderer. I'm just a drifter," the man said, turning around and showing his rugged face. He moved his grey eyes towards Aadon's items, handing them back to the 14-year-old boy.

"How are your arms holding up? Don't worry about broken bones because you don't have any," the man said.

Aadon looked at his arms, each bandaged with white wraps from his wrists up to his elbows. Aadon moved his hands around his face, happy to realize that he had not taken much damage to his face.

"They're f-fine sir," Aadon replied, still nervous about meeting a complete stranger.

"Quit being a wimp kid," the man grunted, which made Aadon step back. "The name's Warner Easton."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Easton," Aadon responded, which made Warner sigh heavily.

"We don't call random strangers by titles like those out in the big bad world," Warner groaned. "It'll just make them feel superior to you. You gotta make them feel like you're at their level."

Aadon nodded, still shaky from his morning experiences.

"What's a spoiled city boy like you doing out here?" Warner asked quickly.

"How did you know I'm a-"

"Kid, everything about you from physical to mental points out the vibe of the big city and spoiled children," Warner interrupted, taking a step forward and looking at the sky. There were clouds coming in from the left, but the night sky remained calm.

"W-well, I'm looking for my dad. You might know him as Dr. Ronkowski," Aadon told Warner.

"The mad scientist?" Warner replied, which made Aadon twitch. "Well he's bright, but he gives all of his cash away and lives a modest life. If I were him, I'd be living the rich lifestyle instead of inventing all the time!"

"Whatever it is, he's been kidnapped," Aadon stated. "I have to help him or prove to the police that my evidence is right!"

"Is this about you or him? You seem like a stubborn wimp to me," Warner said in a criticizing manner.

"H-he needs me!" Aadon said hastily. "And I need a strong Pokemon to face them!"

"A Pokemon is only as good as it's trainer," Warner thought. "But that's not my problem. I just want his stuff."

"Alright you little brat. What if I told you that you can find one of Kanto's strongest Pokemon on the peak of Rock Tunnel?" Warner said out loud, scratching his beard and tightening his headband.

"Can you show me where?" Aadon shouted into Warner's face with excitement, trying not to smile.

Warner pointed towards the darkening path to the left, which made Aadon twitch slightly. "In there? Why does it have to be the dark again?"

"It's either there or no strong Pokemon," Warner said, slightly grinning. "Or are you just afraid of the dark? We have my Golbat's 'night light' anyways."

Aadon blushed slightly, before following Warner. "I gotta do it for dad."

"There's a cave entrance that will take us to the peak from inside this forest," Warner informed as he walked forward with the 14-year-old boy. Warner took out his Pokeball and threw it. The capsule popped open in mid air suspension, releasing a blue Pokemon with purple wings and a large mouth laced with sharp fangs.

"SHRIEEEEEEEEK," Golbat screeched, making Aadon shudder.

* * *

><p><strong>[Lavender Town Police Station-9:21 PM]<strong>

"What do you mean you won't help find the boy?" Mrs. Ronkowski snapped at the man in blue uniform.

"We have too many important cases already filed in," the man in the blue uniform replied as he turned his head towards the HootHoot clock in his room. The wind whipped on the window, creating a loud slamming noise. Mrs. Ronkowski sat in awkward silence and sipped her Coffee as the officer twiddled his fingers.

"Boy, that storm is really picking up-"

"Why can't I just file my case?" Mrs. Ronkowski said sternly.

"You can, and you do have the freedom to do so. The reason I'm telling you not to waste your time is because we have over fifty other cases to look at with first priority. Your kid is gonna have to wait."

Mrs. Ronkowski sighed. "I'm sorry, Ted."

"What now?" the officer muttered in confusion.

"My husband. That child was my husband's life," Mrs. Ronkowski quietly mumbled.

"Be glad that your husband's case has been accepted," the officer said calmly before walking out the door. "I'm going to go get more coffee. It's starting to snow harder and I'd like to get one more cup in case of another blizzard warning."

The heavy winds whipped harder, slamming the doors of the police station and hitting the windows harder than ever before.

* * *

><p><strong>[Rock Tunnel Caverns-10:04 PM]<strong>

The caverns were a magical sight to Aadon. He had never seen anything like it. There were rock formations of many shapes and forms on the ceiling and throughout the caverns. To the left was the roar of water screaming through the caverns in the form of a stream. The path forward was fairly linear, and Aadon could have assumed the two would be at the top in no time.

Even from inside the caverns, Warner could hear the noise of the wind slamming the rocks through the small openings in the caverns. Occasionally, snow would find its way into the caverns through these crevices.

Aadon fell to his knees, nearly falling over completely when he set his foot on top of a patch of ice. The 14-year-old boy shivered, not having packed a sweater for weather so cold.

"SHRIEEEEEEEEK!" Golbat cried behind Aadon, making him jump. The boy had almost forgotten about Golbat, the Pokemon that had guided him through the forest with it's Flash abilities.

"What is it Golbat?" Warner asked. "You know better than to screech in a cavern." Golbat nodded, and Warner smiled slightly before turning his head around.

"You mean that wasn't natural?" Aadon muttered, making Warner turn around. Warner turned his head back around immediately after.

"I better put my plans in action soon," Warner thought. "Otherwise, this blizzard will trap us both in. I couldn't have picked a _warmer_ day to try out one of my most elaborate schemes."

"How much longer?" Aadon asked while rubbing his hands together to create friction. If he hadn't been cleaning his lips with his tongue every few seconds, they would have been frozen cold.

"If it'll get you to quit wimping out, I'd say we're almost-" Warner stopped as a bright light hit his face. "We're here actually. That light is coming from the exit at the top of the peak. You can quit whining now."

The two walked in silence for another quarter mile until the light became even stronger.

"Something tells me that's not the sun," Aadon groaned.

Suddenly, the pebbles on the cavern floor began to shake.

"Something tells me that isn't the wind," Warner said, making a run for the cavern. "I'll take your backpack. You won't be able to make it on those legs with that weight, kid."

Aadon nodded, handing his backpack over to Warner. The rumbling became louder and louder until the two turned around to visibly find its source. They heard several shrieks coming through the cave as rocks fell over from the strength of multiple echoes.

They had disturbed a Zubat nest.

"Zubat!" Aadon screamed as he ran behind Warner.

Warner turned to his left, remembering that the stream led outwards to Celeste Gorge.

"This could be my chance to leave this kid behind," Warner thought as he began running to his right side. "It's been good."

"I'll try to take the stream out!" Warner yelled to Aadon, who shuddered. "You take the main light out. It's too risky for you to use the stream, kid!"

"But I-okay!" Aadon replied quickly, not ready to bargain in a dangerous situation.

Warner took off into the stream, which carried him out along with Aadon's backpack.

"I'm sure he'll get me out of this mess-" Aadon was stopped by a strange feeling on his right arm. Suddenly, his right arm felt weak and had a stinging sensation. He turned his head to meet a Pokemon similar to Golbat, but much smaller and lacking eyes. It was a Zubat

"AHHHH!" Aadon screamed, hitting the Pokemon off. He turned his head to notice that several Zubat were following him.

Aadon was nearly there. The light was getting stronger. Just a few more steps to go. The floor cracked, giving away. The light disappeared as the only escape Aadon had became sealed by boulders. The path behind him sealed in as well.

Aadon found himself trapped from both sides as snow piled in from the collapsed rocks above. After several moments, the cave fell quiet and only the wind was heard once more.

"HELP!" Aadon cried tearfully. "WARNER! Get these rocks out of the way! I don't wanna die!" Aadon tried everything. He scratched at the rocks, pushed at the rocks, and kicked at the rocks, but to no avail.

Aadon dropped his head on the large pile of snow that had dropped beside him, ignoring the fact that he was freezing. Aadon tried scretching his feet, but there was barely enough space to walk more than 10 full paces back and forth. "Maybe Warner will burst me out of this joint. He can't just leave me here, can he?"

Several moments of silence passed until Aadon spoke. "If there was anything I could wish for right now, it would be to see my father one last time. He deserves to know I failed him as both a kid and a hero. I wish I could tell both of my parents goodbye. I wish I could tell Gastly goodbye."

Aadon broke into tears as he continued.

"reee..."

Aadon turned his head. "What was that..?"

"Cle..."

Wiping the tears off of his face, Aadon searched around for the source of the strange noise. It sounded almost like another child.

"Clef..."

"There it is again," Aadon grunted as he dug threw the snow. "It sounds like it's coming from this pile of snow."

Aadon dug and dug until he came upon a soft exterior. It was soft, but rough. Warm, but overtaken by cold. Most importantly, it didn't feel like anything from this planet. All of these comments took Aadon's mind by storm as he felt around the exterior.

Moving his eyes around, he saw a face unlike any other. The eyes were black and close to closing shut. The thing had ears with black tips. Most strange of all was the pink skin of the thing.

"Is...that a Pokemon?" Aadon said, now feeling exhausted himself as he dug his way through the rest of the snow, revealing the entire form of the Pokemon. It had small arms and legs with silver-white nails.

"Clefairy..." Aadon thought.

"Clefairy..." the Pokemon said weakly. Aadon almost turned pale when he saw that Clefairy had wounds on both of it's legs and several bruises on its round body.

"I can't see it like this," Aadon said. "And if I'm going to die, I might as well do a good deed so Arceus takes me to heaven."

Aadon struggled in pain, removing the wraps on his right and left arms. When he finally secured them free, he tore one and tightened it around both of Clefairy's legs. He tied the second one on Clefairy's body.

"There you go little guy," Aadon said weakly. His toes felt warm. His face felt numb. He didn't feel cold at all anymore. Something wasn't right. It was over for him.

Aadon tried to cry himself out, but couldn't even release one tear as an effect of the numbness overtaking his face.

"...fairy?" Clefairy struggled to put it's finger up and moved them around in slight waving motions.

"It's okay, little guy," Aadon said, now feeling like he was in a dream-like state. He took Clefairy in his arms, offering to give it warmth. Clefairy refused to give in, waving it's fingers back and forth.

Several minutes passed before Aadon fell into a deep rest.

"Clefairy.." the Pokemon struggled through the same motions, but this time the tip of it's left finger began to glow. Clefairy huffed backwards, falling into the snow. From out of the pink Pokemon's mouth came a small wave of fire.

* * *

><p><strong>[Rock Tunnel Peak-10:56 PM] <strong>

"Did you see that, Oak?" a man's voice said. In response, a man with greying hair and a huge red jacket turned his head to the voice.

"I most certainly did. From the looks of it, that was an Ember attack," Oak replied. "It came out of the side of that huge pathway."

Running to the exact area of the flames, the man and Oak dug out several rocks. Inside, they saw a innocent young boy on the brink of deep sleep and a bandaged Clefairy wrapped in his arms.

"Come on, we have to rescue them! Get to our camp and get some help!" Oak yelled to his aide.

"Yes sir," the aide ran back, heading towards the research site.

"We'll take the young boy and his Pokemon to Viridian City with us and have them admitted to a hospital. There's no telling him much time we have left!"

* * *

><p><strong>Will Aadon survive? Will his pink friend survive the storm? What happened to Warner Easton? Why is Professor Oak on Rock Tunnel Peak? Is this the end of Aadon's quest? Find out on the next chapter of Cloak and Dagger!<strong>

**Author's Note [5/5/2012]:  
><strong>

**I know it has been forever since I've made a chapter, but I've planned out the whole first Arc of my story. "Cloak and Dagger" is simply the first Arc of Aadon's quest to defeat Cloak and his own path to power.  
><strong>

**As far as I can confirm, "Cloak and Dagger" will be 18 chapters long, and will be followed by a sequel named "Rising Blade", which will pick up on Aadon's adventures.  
><strong>

**Here's my question list:  
><strong>

**Q1: Do you think Aadon is acting like a coward? Or would you react the same way if you were put in the same situations (be honest, because he's only 14)?  
><strong>

**Q2: Do you feel that the chapter lengths are too long, or is 2,500-3,500 words just about right?  
><strong>

**Q3: What do you think of a trilogy of stories following Aadon's quest in Kanto? These would be "Cloak and Dagger", "Rising Blade", and a unnamed final story.  
><strong>

**Q4: Isn't DrakexMontana just meant to be? (go POKESTETS!) (Only if you've read Drake Smith's Pokemon Journey: Kanto)  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Thank you to Big B for reviewing chapter 2. Read his stories and you won't be disappointed.<br>**


	4. A Heart of Fire

_There is nothing..._

_Suddenly, the splitting image of a familiar man appears as a silhouette.  
><em>

_"Aadon, my boy!" the voice of Dr. Ronkowski yells out.  
><em>

_"Dad?" the disembodied voice of a child called out into the abyss.  
><em>

_There is nothing...  
><em>

_"Where are you dad?" Aadon cried out. "Please come out!"  
><em>

_Aadon could feel nothing around him...nothing beneath his two cold feet...  
><em>

_"Why did you let them take my husband?" the familiar voice of a women called out.  
><em>

_"Mom?" Aadon gasped. He looked down at his palms...only they weren't there. He wasn't there.  
><em>

_There is nothing...  
><em>

_"You failed me and you failed your father!" the voice shouted as it slowly melted, giving way to a new sound.  
><em>

_"AND YOU'RE NEXT!" a demonic voice screamed from the abyss.  
><em>

_Abruptly, Aadon felt himself being jerked from both flanks. Aadon wailed as the three voices combined into one, being joined by several other voices in the process.  
><em>

_"Look here boss..."  
><em>

_"No...he can't"  
><em>

_"Failure!"  
><em>

_"Cloak..."  
><em>

_"One and the same..."  
><em>

_"Pain..."  
><em>

_"...DIE!"  
><em>

_"Help me Aadon!"_

* * *

><p><strong>[Unknown Location-4:02 PM]<strong>

Aadon gasped as he roused awake from his nightmares, his heart pounding and his nerves unsettled. Aadon stood off of his bed, still quivering from memories fresh in his mind. He scanned his environment.

The golden rays of the sun settled into the room through a window behind his bed. To the right of his bed was a small television set on a table. To his left in the white and gloomy room stood a brown door with a circular glass hole near the top.

In all of his excitement, Aadon dismissed the large area in front of his white bed, where there were several worried faces glancing right at him. Still half asleep, Aadon could do no more than stare blankly at his visitors.

"Are you feeling alright, boy?" the first man inquired. His voice sounded all too familiar to Aadon. It was somebody Aadon's father had introduced him to during a family trip to one of his father's conventions. The man wore a white labcoat, red collar shirt, and khaki-brown pants. His hair was grey but represented a faded shade of white as well.

"Aren't you-" Aadon stopped himself, realizing silently he was speaking.

"Professor Oak, at your service," the elderly man finished, shaking hands gently with Aadon. While making his acquaintance with the famous professor, Aadon couldn't help but notice a man exit the room abruptly. Before getting a chance to analyze the features of the aide, Aadon found himself shaking the hand of another man.

This man looked slightly younger than Professor Oak, but aged and graying as well. He had a light-brown mullet on his head, and a line of grey facial hair passing through his chin. His hair was thinning and greying from several sides. In comparison to Oak, he wore a similar outfit but wore tan shorts instead.

"Professor Birch, at your service," the man said, imitating his older counterpart. "You nearly suffered frostbite! What were you thinking being out there in the open-and with a Pokemon!"

"A Pokemon?" Aadon muttered while rubbing his eyes. To his relief, his bucket hat had been placed on a hat stand near the door he had failed to notice earlier. His clothing had not been replaced with hospital clothes. "What are you talking about-"

"You mean you don't remember?" Oak asked. "You were holding a Clefairy in your arms when we found you."

Aadon's eyes sprang open almost immediately. "What happened to that Clefairy? I know it's not my Pokemon, but I just want to know if it's ok."

"Yes it is," Oak smiled. "We secured the Clefairy in the warmth of a Pokeball and had it taken to the nearest Pokemon center to gather its energy."

"That's good," Aadon said quickly as his thoughts raced once more. "Where am I? How did I get here?"

"We found you and that Clefairy trapped in a narrow cavern. I think you owe Clefairy for your life as well," Birch grinned. "Had it not been for the Ember attack created by your Clefairy, you two would have been frozen shut!"

"Wow-I d-didn't know that," Aadon stammered.

"Your in Viridian City Hospital," Oak stated, which took Aadon back with shock.

"How did I get all the way here?" Aadon shouted in surprise. "I need to get to Saffron City!"

"And why is that?" Birch questioned.

"I-" Aadon stopped.

"Well?" Oak smiled, waiting for an answer.

"If I tell them I'm the son of Dr. Ronkowski, they'll take me right back to Lavender Town!" Aadon thought. "I have to go undercover. Besides, I'm sure they've already heard about his kidnapping."

"I'm...Ilex!" Aadon said quickly.

"Like the forest in Johto?" Oak inquired. "Isn't that a rather odd name?"

"My parents fell in love there!" Aadon responded rapidly, not knowing a thing about Ilex forest.

"How romantic," Birch grinned. "Anyways, there's somebody who wants to see you-and he's waiting at the Pokemon Center."

"How long was I out?" Aadon asked as he put on his sneakers, which were by his bed.

"A day and a half," Birch answered.

* * *

><p><strong>[Unknown Route-4:32 PM]<strong>

"There it is," a feminine voice said. "Professor Oak's Pokemon-"

"I thought that was his lab," a male voice said confusedly. She slapped the back of his head, making him squeal.

"Ow!" the man cried.

"His Pokemon are behind that big house, you nitwit!" the women said in annoyance.

"Where? I don't see any there," the man yelled in a loud and obnoxious voice.

"Quiet you! We're only a few paces away from the lab! What if the Professor hears us?" the women yelled, shutting her mouth when she had realized her fault.

"Look who's talking, you Slowpoke!" the man stuck his tongue out, only to have it grabbed.

"The POKEMON are behind the lab on the ranch, Blaze, " the women stated as she rubbed her palm through her raven-black hair. "We're not going to get paid unless we bring back someone nice Pokemon to sell on the market!"

"Don't sweat it too much, Ice," the man responded. "We've done this plenty of times. We can always find a better job if the boss decides not to pay us."

"Yeah," Ice grinned. "Mercenaries for hire. HAHA!"

Suddenly, an explosion came out of the lab, breaking several of the 2nd story windows of Oak's mansion.

"OW! NOT AGAIN, MUK! Who's going to CLEAN UP THE SLUDGE BOMBS THIS TIME?" A shrill voice cried in anger from inside the lab.

"Let's do this some other day," Ice shuddered. "I hate Sludge."

"Fine," Blaze groaned. "But I don't wanna-"

"Not it," Ice smirked, walking away.

Blaze grumbled, taking cash out of his pocket. "Always gotta pay for the food...no money to catch a flick or nothing."

"Quit whining! You can always watch _The Legend of Sir Aaron _some other time!" Ice shoved his shoulder, hinting him to move on.

* * *

><p><strong>[Viridian City Pokemon Center-5:03 PM] <strong>

Aadon looked upon the large Pokemon Center with awe. The ceiling reached very high up, there were several lounges, and even a Potion mart. Aadon couldn't help but notice that there was only one help desk despite the size of the Pokemon center, and only one Nurse walking around.

Several years before, Aadon visited Viridian City with his father for a conference, but he was too young to be able to remember that now. While gazing at the red and white ceiling patterns, Aadon bumped into someone.

"Hey, you better be careful!" a sleek adult voice grumbled. The brown-haired man turned around to see a 14-year-old standing beside Professor Oak and Professor Birch. "Gramps? Birch? Sorry about that."

"Gary? How's my grandson doing!" Oak reached in for a hug, which Gary received warmly. "It's been quite a while since I've seen you! How's the gym?"

"It's been several months," Gary answered with a smile, "and the gym has been doing fantastic. I'm running a 15 win record right now!"

"You wouldn't want someone to break that, would you?" Birch grinned.

"Not anytime soon," Gary replied with a chuckle before turning over to Aadon. "Who's the kid?"

"This is Ilex," Oak answered for Aadon, who almost spilled out his real name out of instinct. "We found him trapped on the peak of Rock Tunnel with a Clefairy."

"Rock Tunnel? Doesn't your mommy or daddy ever stop you from going to places like those?" Gary said immediately.

Aadon looked down at his palms and turned back up with a slight gulp. "Yes, well I-"

"Never mind that Gary," Birch interrupted. "We're here to get this kid his Pokemon."

"M-my Pokemon?" Aadon said shakily. "But what can I do with a Clefairy?"

"Don't be modest, young lad," Oak smiled. "If you hadn't held that Clefairy in your arms and bandaged it up, something bad may have happened.

"R-really?" Aadon said, still a little shaken up from the fact. "But will Clefairy hate me? What if I do something wrong? What if-"

"Calm down kid," Gary put a finger to Aadon's mouth and grinned. "There's your Clefairy now." Aadon had not seen Birch slip by and go to the counter to pick up Clefairy. Clefairy was looking well-polished, it's bandages now taken off.

"Clefairy!" the Pokemon said, walking next to Aadon. Aadon smiled weakly at Clefairy.

Suddenly, Aadon felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning over to his backside, he saw a young women. She had a kind aura around her, and Aadon suddenly felt calm. She wore her curly pink hair in two cute knots shaped like bunny ears. Aadon smiled when he looked up at her blue eyes.

"Don't worry too much about your Clefairy, Ilex," the women said. "He made a surprisingly good recovery."

"Thank you ma'am," Aadon replied. "Find Clefairy a good home. I can't take care of him."

"But why, Ilex?" Oak asked.

"It's complicated," Aadon said while looking down, not wanting to meet the looks of the others. How could he confide to everyone that he had run away from home to save Dr. Ronkowski? The moment they found out, he would be shipped by to Lavender Town and become the main headline of the media. How could his mom forgive him if he brought shame to the Ronkowski family? What would they say if they found out that Dr. Ronkowski's child had ran away? The media would surely see him as an abusive person!

"What was I thinking?" Aadon mumbled out loud.

"What?" Birch asked. Everyone was now looking at Aadon.

"Oh!" Aadon exclaimed when he realized he had said his question out loud. "It's nothing."

"I don't care it what it is," Gary chastised. "That Pokemon likes you and considers you it's owner."

"Since it is a fairly young Clefairy, it sees you as it's parental figure," Oak explained.

"I see," Aadon nodded. Aadon had to tell them who he was, or at least what he wanted to do. "I need to get stronger."

"It doesn't happen instantaneously," Gary remarked.

"But you don't understand, I'm running out of time," Aadon answered.

"The Pokemon League is still more than 6 months away," Gary responded. "Plenty of time to train and get the badges."

"I'm not exactly sure what badges are," Aadon said in confusion. "My dad used to talk about them. Aren't they those things that gym leaders give out to people for the Pokemon league?"

"Badges are symbols of maturity and strength," Gary explained. "For each badge, you must fight a gym leader. You need at least 8 to enter the Pokemon League."

"Gym leaders? You mean those really powerful trainers?" Aadon inquired as he turned down to see Clefairy touching his leg.

"Yes, those _powerful _trainers," Gary replied sarcastically with a grin. "You look like you've got a lot to learn."

"I have to get stronger," Aadon thought. "I have to make Clefairy stronger to help me save my dad!" Aadon went a step closer to Gary, holding Clefairy in his hands.

"Can you teach me to make my Pokemon stronger?" Aadon asked.

"I can battle you, I guess," Gary replied. "But then, I am a gym leader."

"A gym leader?" Aadon said in surprise. Aadon came to believe that all gym leaders were the old Professor types, so this came as a shock to the 14-year-old boy.

"Yes, but I'm one of the more powerful ones," Gary grinned.

"Oh, quit bragging Gary," Oak lightly tapped his grandson's shoulder. "Let him fight you. I'm sure you know a thing or two about battling right?"

"My dad used to show me a little battling," Aadon responded with a slight smile.

"Let's take this outside," Birch reminded everyone. "Actually, let's take this on your gym grounds."

"Oh, right," Gary scratched his head. "Ok everyone, let's go to the outdoors arena at my gym."

* * *

><p><strong>[Viridian City Gym-5:53 PM] <strong>

"Well come on in through the gate," Gary said, opening the gate for everyone.

The field was incredibly huge. There was a track that circled the grass running for at least a quarter-mile lap. Encircling the entire field was a large wooden fence.

"Clefairy!" the Pokemon said, licking Aadon.

"Let's see what you're made of," Aadon smiled, petting his Pokemon. "I know you can beat him."

"Don't be so sure," Gary teased, making Aadon blush. He had been speaking a little too loud.

"This is kind of an unofficial battle, so we don't need a referee," Birch stated as Aadon and Gary walked to opposite sides of the field.

"Go a little easy on him," Oak whispered as he began to walk off the field next to Professor Birch.

"Will try, gramps," Gary smiled as he took off his leather jacket, revealing a brown shirt.

"Try to wrap this up soon, boys!" Oak yelled out from several feet. "It's getting a little dark!"

Oak was right. There were no clouds in sight, and the orange rays of the sun were starting to fade away behind the mountains in the distance.

Gary took a Pokeball in his hand and threw it on to the ground. "You're needed, buddy."

The ball cracked open, and in a flash of light, a Doduo stood on the field. The innocent looking bird Pokemon had two heads resting upon a round body covered with brown feathers.

"Say hello to my Doduo," Gary said happily. "You may have the first movie."

"O-okay," Aadon gulped. He was a little nervous. "I'll just do what my dad taught me. Now what does Clefairy know?"

The breeze began to pick up, making the grass wave in the wind gracefully. Clefairy stood in front of Aadon, waiting for a move.

"Pound attack!" Aadon ordered. Clefairy ran forwards, gripping it's two hands.

"Dodge it and use Peck," Gary commanded. Before Clefairy's Pound could make impact, Doduo swiftly evaded the attack to the right, making Clefairy fall face flat on the floor.

"Get up and try another Pound-" but before Aadon could finish his command, a strong Peck made impact with the Normal type Pokemon, sending it skidding through the Grass.

"Clefairy!" Clefairy exclaimed, quickly getting up and brushing dust off its face.

"You can do better than that," Gary grinned. "Use Peck on Clefairy's legs."

Doduo's two heads leaned forward, using Peck near Clefairy's legs.

"Jump up and use Pound," Aadon quickly ordered. Clefairy made a slight jump into the air before falling over in pain as a Peck made impact with its right leg.

"Keep up the Peck," Gary ordered as Doduo continued its barrage, forcing Clefairy to roll left and right frantically. Doduo jumped out of the way, leaving Clefairy room to get up. "I think Doduo just learned Fury Attack!"

"What other moves does Clefairy know?" Aadon thought. "What about Sing? I can put that Doduo to sleep!"

"Try another Pound!" Aadon yelled. Clefairy pushed forwards, running faster than before. Both Aadon and Clefairy were visibly sweating, but Gary and Doduo seemed calm and normal.

"Doduo, dodge and use Fury Attack!" Gary ordered. Doduo charged forwards, forcing Clefairy to stop.

"Grab one of the beaks!" Aadon shouted. Clefairy managed to secure its arms on Doduo's beak, but the second beak slammed Clefairy in the face, knocking it to the ground.

"Go ahead and try Sing anyways!" Aadon commanded. Clefairy took a step back and opened its mouth, but could not Sing before taking another two blows to the body from the Fury Attack.

"Roll to the right Clefairy," Aadon quickly ordered, guessing correctly. that the beaks were moving towards Clefairy's left flank.

"Try Metronome!" Birch yelled to Aadon, who immediately heard the request.

"What's Metronome?" Aadon asked himself. "No time! Metronome!"

Clefairy dodged to its right side, taking a hit to its leg before grabbing both of Doduo's beaks. The Normal type motioned its left-hand fingers back and forth. Suddenly, they emitted a glow.

"CLEEEE...FAIRRRRRY!" Suddenly, Clefairy shot up, hitting Doduo with a barrage of punches that forced the Pokemon to retreat.

"Dodge to the right and use Peck!" Gary ordered. Doduo feinted to its left before dodging right, making Clefairy trip. The Normal type fell to the floor, hitting its head.

"Quick, Pound!" Aadon requested in panic.

"Peck it's back before it gets back up," Gary calmly commanded. Doduo plunged to the ground with both of its heads.

"Roll left now!" Aadon quickly yelled.

"Fairy!" Clefairy dodged to the left, avoiding the left beak, which stuck beak-first in the dirt. The right head looked up in panic.

"Pound!" Aadon ordered.

"Quick Attack," Gary grinned.

"Quick Attac-" Before Aadon could even ask himself what the move meant, Doduo's left beak shot out of the ground and concurrently rammed Clefairy in the chest with its right head.

"FAAAAIRRRRY!" Clefairy slid near Aadon, now covered in dust and small bruises. Aadon rushed over to his Pokemon's side.

"You did good," Aadon smiled. "You did your best."

"You have a long way to go," Gary said from above Aadon. Aadon looked up to see the gym leader smiling upon him. "Not only did you make mistakes, but so did your Clefairy."

"What do you mean?" Aadon asked with wide eyes.

"Most people assume that if they improve their battling commands and tactics, their Pokemon will follow," Gary explained as he took out a purple bottle and sprayed Clefairy. "This will sting a little, but it'll help."

"Fairy!" Clefairy squeaked in pain, followed by a sigh of relief.

"You also have to train your Pokemon when you train yourself," Gary continued. "They aren't robots that will be as good as your voice makes them. Pokemon can be big,tall,small, fat, weak, old, and so much more. They have all the traits that make them as real as we are as humans."

"I see," Aadon sighed, still down about his loss. "Is there any fast way to get stronger."

"No," Gary chuckled. "It takes time and dedication to become a stronger trainer. Above all that, it takes a heart of fire. You have to find the fire within you and share it with your Pokemon."

"I can't lie to him," Aadon thought. "It will only make things worse for me and my dad. How do I tell him that I'm the son of Dr. Ronkowski?"

"Let's go inside the gym and get something to eat," Gary grinned as he began walking forward.

"Gary?" Aadon said quietly.

"Yo?" Gary turned around.

"I have to tell you something important," Aadon replied as the last traces of orange left the sky and the two began a slow walk to the gym.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes [513/2012]: **

**There you go! Another long chapter! I guess my chapter length varies on how much of a story I have to tell to wrap up my plot. 14 chapters to go for Cloak and Dagger.  
><strong>

**Your questions for this week:  
><strong>

**Q1: Is the character development of Aadon coming along pretty well? (I know much wasn't revealed, but I wanted to showcase his fragile personality and fears some more)  
><strong>

**Q2: How can I improve my battle descriptions and make the battles more lively? And did I do well in showing how inexperienced Clefairy is in battle?  
><strong>

**Q3: Was there a little too much talking in his chapter, or did the conversations interest you?  
><strong>


	5. Malice, Cowardice

**[Viridian City Gym-6:13 PM]**

"What is it that you want to tell me?" Gary asked once more as Aadon looked down at his feet before watching the last rays of the sun fall behind the colossal mountains in the distance. Sometimes Aadon wished he were those mountains; he would be strong, stable, high, and touched by the brightness of the sun.

"Fairy?" Clefairy said softly as it scanned Aadon.

"Well I-" Aadon paused once more. "I don't know how I can come out with this without getting an overreaction from you. Can I trust you with this secret?" What was Aadon thinking? He couldn't even trust Gary with his secrets, let alone Professor Oak or Professor Birch. They would report him to the authorities right away and have him shipped back to Lavender Town express!

Aadon was almost sure that the authorities were looking out for him as he spoke.

* * *

><p><strong>[Celedon City Police Station-6:15 PM] <strong>

"Why do you bother to come to this branch when the Lavender Town branch told you no?" the man asked Mrs. Ronkowski. She could only look at his face in despair. The man examined her facial features carefully. She was pale and drained of all her happiness and emotions. They were circles under her eyes that were visible because of her pale-white skin.

"But he's a child," Mrs. Ronkowski said softly. "Why won't the police accept my case, even _with_ all the priority cases?"

"We can't," the policeman sternly replied. "I'm sorry-but we can't. It would put our system out of order and disrupt our-"

"Your what?" Mrs Ronkowski asked when the officer took a pause and scanned the paperwork on his desk, flipping a page from one of his documents.

"Our connections," the officer said coldly.

Mrs. Ronkowski immediately knew how childless cases had made it to the top of the chain. "How much were you paid?"

"Excuse me?" the officer looked up, closing all of his documents.

"How much did they put in your wallet?" Mrs. Ronkowski restated.

"Why I never!" the man shot up, pacing around the room and looking at some of the pictures on the left side of the door. "How dare you insult the Kanto Police in this manner?"

"And what about your manners, good sir?" Mrs. Ronkowski responded sarcastically.

"Out!" the man waved his finger at the door. Mrs. Ronkowski stormed out of the building, slamming the door as she did.

"The nerve of these people! What gives them the right?" the man spat angrily as he put his hand on one of the pictures on the left side of the wall.

There were several photos of him dressed in uniform standing beside lavish-looking men; each one of the pictures conveniently placed him in front of a large residence, except for the picture of a man in uniform holding his wife and kids.

* * *

><p><strong>[Viridian City Gym-6:31 PM]<strong>

The lounge of Viridian City's gym was magnificent. There was a large chandelier above the table Aadon and the adults were eating on. The table itself was crafted out of wooden material, but felt so smooth that Aadon could exaggerate and call it a fine silk. Oak sat straight in his chair, eating his meal in small portions and politely brushing the napkin on his face. Gary almost seemed like a imperfect imitation of his grandfather, leaning forwards to suck his noodles and taking in large bites. Birch, on the other hand, had to be exaggerated to be spoken of; he leaned forwards, taking in noodles in large slurping noises.

"You-wanted to say something?" Gary asked once more to Aadon, who could not eat more than a few bites. "You've been sitting there quietly for a while now."

"Well, how do I put this, Aadon?" Aadon asked himself in his mind. "I'm the run-away son of a kidnapped scientist? I'm lying to these guys and they're giving me so much hospitality!"

"Well?" Oak said in a bold tone, now glaring at Aadon. Even Birch had stopped eating.

"I don't know how to say this-but I'm not who I am," Aadon said shakily, trying to come off as calm as possible.

"What do you mean?" Gary responded while the Professors resumed eating.

"I'm n-not Ilex," Aadon said very softly.

"What?" Gary asked, not being able to hear Aadon's whispering.

"I-"

Suddenly, the door slammed open; there, a young-looking man with round spectacles, a white labcoat, and brown hair stood sideways, trying to gather his breath. "They're gone!"

Nobody moved. "Who is?" Oak questioned, bracing his arms on the table.

"The new starters! They ran aw-"

"What do you mean, ran away?" Gary questioned tensely while pressing his left hand on the table.

"Why?" Oak asked, now standing up. "And how?"

Birch continued taking in small bites, which no one found irritating at all.

"Muk-Sludge-BOOM-Scared-Gone," the man said in spurts of breath, still exhausted from a long run.

"Catch your breathe first," Birch told the man. "You look like you ran all the way across the city!"

"I did!" the man blurted out. "This is important!"

"Indeed it is, young man," Oak said in a serious manner. "That Muk is a troublesome Pokemon sometimes. "

"You said it!" the man spat tiredly.

"Now tell us what happened, William," Oak said to the young and tense man.

Aadon was taken aback by the whole situation, and watched in silence.

"Well, I was sweeping the lab room in the house-"

* * *

><p><em><strong>[Oak's Lab-2 Hours Before-4:32 PM] <strong>**  
><strong>_

_"Sweeping-Sweeping-Sweeping," William repeated in a sing-song voice while sweeping the floor of the lab. The lab was filled with several crates and boxes at the sides, with a door at the back of the room and a staircase going to the living room of the house. The white walls and humming machines in the lab always interested William, who had been working at Oak's lab as a part-time aide for several weeks. On a large table in the middle of the room, there were three Pokeballs.  
><em>

_Suddenly, William fell over, landing on something soft rather than the hardness he had expected from a tile floor. Looking up, he saw two eyeballs on a pile of purple slime that William could swear had arms. "Muk."  
><em>

_"AH!" William jumped backwards, startled by the appearance of the Poison type. "Please don't Sludge up the floors again."  
><em>

_"Muk," the Pokemon smiled, walking around the room while William resumed his work.  
><em>

_"I think it's time to feed the new Pokemon," William smiled. "They're getting trainers tomorrow."  
><em>

_"Muk," Muk said in response.  
><em>

_Taking each Pokeball at hand, William released the young starters one by one; there was a orange Pokemon with a burning tail, a light-blue Pokemon with a shell, and a quadruped Pokemon with a green sprout on its back.  
><em>

_"Squirtle!" the light-blue Pokemon shouted, jumping backwards and falling over before slowly getting up and scratching its head.  
><em>

_"Charmander," the orange Pokemon said as it sat down calmly, looking at William for some sort of command, then looking down at its feet for some entertainment.  
><em>

_"Bulbasaur!" the quadruped Grass type cried, running around frantically and biting on various crates and things.  
><em>

_"I don't think you should do that, Bulbasaur-well I better hand them their food to quiet them down," William thought.  
><em>

_ "Muk?" Muk said in confusion as it felt a strange sensation behind its form.  
><em>

_"Bulb," Bulbasaur said with Muk's body in its mouth.  
><em>

_"Muk?" Muk turned slightly red.  
><em>

_"Bulbsaur, let go!" William scolded. "Muk doesn't like that-"  
><em>

_"MUUUUUK!"  
><em>

_"Oh no-please don't!" William yelled._

* * *

><p><strong>[Present Day]<br>**

"Next thing I knew, Muk fired several Sludge bombs around the lab, several of which broke the windows," William explained, ending his flashback. "And the next thing I remember is cleaning up the lab and then finding out that the starter Pokemon were gone. I haven't seen them since the explosion."

"Oh, you and your memory," Gary groaned. "Why do you forget things so fast?"

"Never mind that, Gary," Oak told his grandson. "We need to split up and search for our Pokemon."

They turned around to Aadon, who was still seated at the table. The others, on the other hand, had gotten up during the flashback in all the excitement.

"Can you help us?" Gary asked. "I know you just got out of the hospital and stuff, but you seem alright and we need all the help we can get."

"Sure," Aadon quickly replied. "It's the least I can do to pay you guys back for your hospitality. Where do you want me to search?"

"Hold that thought," Gary grinned. "Birch, go to the police station and see if you can get help. Grandpa, you and I will have to look around here somewhere." Birch nodded, heading out of the door.

Gary turned his head to William. "Where was the last place you saw the starters."

"Now that I think about it, I didn't see them on my way to Viridian City, but I can go check around Route 1 again," William responded.

"Good, then gramps and I can search the city," Gary smiled. "Aadon."

"Y-ya?" Aadon said, startled by the sudden call of his name. How did Gary know?

"Can you and Clefairy search Route 22?"

"Route 22? A-at night?" Aadon shivered at the very thought of going to the woods at night.

"Come on! You're 14!" Gary beamed. "Most trainers start their journeys at the age of 10! Plus, you've got Clefairy-actually, where is the little guy?"

"He's taking a nap in the dojo," Aadon smiled, feeling a little confident to have Clefairy around him during the search.

"Take this," Gary handed Aadon a black flashlight.

* * *

><p><strong>[Unknown Location-7:03 PM] <strong>

"Can you believe our luck?" Ice hissed while throwing branches into the fire. "The lab goes Sludge on us on the day we planned to get some Pokemon.

"Now we're not gonna get paid!" Blaze frowned. "And I didn't get to watch that flick."

"Quit worrying about _your _movie!" Ice spat while scratching her raven-black hair. "How are we going to get paid? And how am _I _gonna get food into my stomach?"

"It's always _I _and _mine _with you, isn't it?" Blaze muttered. "Maybe if-"

Suddenly, a bush rattled violently behind the two drifters.

They both turned around, signaling each other to go first.

Looking together, they saw a Pokemon.

"Is that a-" Ice started.

"It must be from the lab!" Blaze finished for Ice. "That explosion must have given this critter a chance to escape! This one came right into our hands!"

Blaze folded his hands and bowed. "Thank you for this blessing upon our souls, Arceus."

"Will you just grab it?" Ice said in a stiff manner.

* * *

><p><strong>[Viridian City Pokemon Center-7:46 PM]<strong>

Professor Birch ran back to the group as fast as he could, carrying a young Grass-type Pokemon in his hand.

When he made it back to the Pokemon center, he was surprised to see Oak and Gary happily waiting around the front of the large building.

"You'll never guess who I found snacking on a rose garden!" Birch laughed, holding Bulbasaur up.

"Bulba!" the Grass-type beamed while chewing a piece of leaf.

"Guess who we found sitting outside the Pokemon center!" Gary grinned. "Good thing Nurse Joy came to tell us herself!"

"Well now, all we need is that Squirtle," Oak reminded the two. "Let's head towards Route 22, gentlemen."

"You got it, grandpa," Gary said loudly. "Let's help the kid."

* * *

><p><strong>[Route 22-7:48 PM]<strong>

"W-where do you think those starters are," Aadon said while folding his arms. He had forgotten to wear a sweater. The breeze was picking up, even in the presence of a wall of trees, most of which large enough to cover the moonlight Aadon had seen on his way to the route. He was familiar with the location of the route, his father having taken him to see the Spearow when he was a child.

"Fairy," Clefairy said, walking forwards with no fear.

"How can you not be scared?" Aadon asked his pink Pokemon.

"Fairy!" Clefairy shouted, walking backwards while glaring at Aadon. The Normal type tripped over a set of branches hanging out from one of the large and lush trees.

"Watch your step," Aadon said, helping his Pokemon up. "Better safe than sorry."

"Clefairy!" the Pokemon shouted, folding its arms in embarrassment and walking straight. Suddenly, Aadon and Clefairy heard faint voices to their left, where there was nothing but patches of trees leading to darkness.

"Only one way to find out," Aadon shuddered. "You first."

"Clefairy," the Pokemon shrugged, walking forwards.

After several minutes of walking, the voices were louder than ever.

"This Squirtle will fetch us lots of cash!" a feminine voice shouted.

"Not to mention movies and games!" a man voice responded to the female voice.

"That's all it is for you!" the female voice said.

"Squirt-"

Following an impatient Clefairy, Aadon snuck around the bushes to get a closer look in. There he saw two adult figures dressed in strange clothing. One of them was a emerald-eyed women with raven-black hair. The other was a man with spiky red hair and a goatee who had grey-eyes.

"Squirtle," a tiny voice said.

"RAAAH!" Ice hissed at Squirtle, making it frantically roll around, its hands and legs tied down by strong rope.

"This Pokemon is a coward," Ice laughed. "At least it's easy money."

"I wouldn't want it either," Blaze commented.

"Clefairy!" Clefairy grumbled as it clutched its hands into fists.

"Let's not d-do anything hasty, Clefairy," Aadon said quickly. "They'll clobber us both in a fight!"

Clefairy looked at Aadon, before turning back to the scene.

"Get the stick and hit it around," Ice nudged at Blaze.

"They can't just do that!" Aadon thought. "But If I go out there, we're dead! But what about that Pokemon? I guess there has to be sacrifices!"

"Better yet, let's get your Seel and my Magmar to hit it around!" Blaze suggested.

"But-what about our own skins?" Aadon continued to think. "That P-Pokemon is gonna get beaten up if someone doesn't do something!"

"Magmar! Get out here!" Blaze shouted, taking out his Pokeball and throwing it down. In a flash of light, a red-colored Pokemon with yellow designs begin to stomp around and move its large tail around.

"Seel, you too!" Ice ordered, throwing her Pokeball down. After another flash, a furry-white Pokemon with flippers begin flopping around, awaiting orders.

"Seel!"

"Magmaaaar!"

"We're dead," Aadon thought. "But so is that Pokemon if we don't do something."

"Clefairy, I was-" Aadon stopped, noticing his Clefairy was gone."

"What the heck is that?" Ice yelled.

"Holy mother of Normal types!" Blaze blurted out.

"Oh no," Aadon said, hoping Clefairy hadn't revealed their cover.

"Fairy! Cle-FAIRY!" Clefairy clenched its fists, ranting in anger and waving its fingers.

"Magmar, use Flamethrower!" Blaze ordered.

"Seel, use Ice Beam!" Ice commanded.

Before either Pokemon could take an action, a large and powerful wave passed to their side, making the ground shake in its wake. The white beam went behind the two drifters, destroying their tent.

"I think-that was a Hyper Beam," Ice said in shock.

Aadon jumped out of the bushes, standing by Clefairy.

"And who are you?" Ice hissed. "You can't have our treasure."

"That's not y-yours," Aadon tried to say with force, ending up with a weak tone.

"Fairy!" Clefairy nodded, supporting its trainer.

"Squirtle?" Squirtle said, looking at Aadon and Clefairy through its hands.

"It's you and your Pink ballon versus our monsters!" Ice cackled. "What are gonna do? Throw us a party?"

"Try a Metronome," Aadon said to Clefairy. Clefairy nodded, waving its left-hand fingers back and forth, each one glowing radiantly. After the glow stopped, Clefairy wagged its tail left-to-right.

"Please tell me that was a warmup for another super-powerful attack," Aadon said nervously.

"Fairy?" Clefairy said in shock.

"Tail Whip? BWAHHAHAHA," Blaze roared. "Attack Magmar!"

"You too Seel!"

Aadon embraced Clefairy as they both prepared for the worst.

"Wing Attack, Golbat!" a disembodied voice cried. Abruptly, a Golbat came dashing out of the trees, knocking Magmar into a tree.

"What?" Aadon looked up, making eye contact with a familiar person.

"Seel, use Ice Beam!" Ice shouted. Seel tightened its position on the ground, firing a glowing beam out of its mouth. Golbat dodged the attack, the beam itself making contact with several trees and freezing them.

"Use Poison Fang on Seel!" the familiar baritone voice ordered calmly. Golbat buzzed forwards rapidly, biting Seel's body. Seel fell backwards in pain, nearly knocking itself out on a boulder.

"I think my Seel is poisoned!" Ice exclaimed.

"Magmar, use Flamethrower!" Blaze ordered to Magmar. The Fire-Pokemon bounced forwards, releasing a colossal wave of fire from its mouth.

"Air Slash, Golbat." Golbat pierced its wings through the wind, sending several waves of air towards the fire that were so powerful that they threatened to blow Aadon backwards. The attacks collided, the fire being negated by the Air Slash. The attack pressed forwards, knocking Blaze and Magmar into the trees.

"Let's get out of here!" Blaze yelled. "Forget the Squirtle!"

Ice and Blaze gathered their damaged supplies and ran off into the woods along with their Pokemon.

"Why did you come back, Warner?" Aadon asked, his face still covered with tear drops.

Warner simply threw a familiar-looking backpack to the floor. "I ate some of the food, but most of the supplies are still in there. This doesn't change anything between us, you spoiled city kid."

"Squirtle!" the Water-type exclaimed, running towards Aadon and falling into his shoulders.

"Fairy!" Clefairy embraced Aadon tightly alongside Squirtle.

"If only that Squirtle knew how wimpy you acted," Warner remarked. "Well, it takes one to know one-as well as like one."

"It's going to be all right, Squirtle," Aadon said, wiping a tear off his cheek. "Warner?"

But Warner was gone. Just like that, the drifter was gone.

"Aadon!" the voice of Gary shouted as it neared him.

Oak, Birch, and Gary popped out of the bushes running.

"That Squirtle is okay!" Oak exclaimed. "We were starting to get worried! What would your father say, Aadon?"

Aadon froze. "My d-dad?"

"You have some explaining to do," Gary said, folding his arms.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note [527/2012]: **

**I came down with a busy schedule, and so this chapter was a week delayed. For this, I apologize to all of my fans. I would like it if you guys reviewed the first chapter of my Star Wars fanfic, which I will continue around mid-June.  
><strong>

**Thank you to Clarinet97 for the first review of this chapter! She's a fantastic writer and I encourage any Pokemon fan (games or anime) to read her story.  
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**Also, I'd like to thank Kitsune, Pokestets, Koolaid, Zack, Big B, and Gigaremo for reviewing my story!  
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* * *

><p><strong>Come join Zardia II, where you can share your stories with other writers! It's a fantastic and open forum that isn't just for Pokemon.<br>**

* * *

><p><strong>Q1: Do you think there is more to Warner's character?<br>**

**Q2: What's your VERY first starter Pokemon (like from your first Pokemon game)?  
><strong>

**Q3: Would you read this story chapter-by-chapter all the way to the final story of the trilogy (A Fiery Heart) when it releases?  
><strong>


	6. Once in the Moment

**[Route 22-8:03 PM]**

Aadon couldn't move. His heart (or something in his torso) began feeling heavy. His breathing pace picked up to the point where he felt like he had seen several blades narrowly pass him and escape through the trees behind him. Gary, Professor Oak, and Birch's glares only worsened Aadon's psychological state.

Clefairy stood next to Aadon, not knowing what was going on. "Fairy?"

"Return," Aadon ordered as a beam of light engulfed the Normal type.

"Put Squirtle inside the Pokeball," Oak told Gary. Gary nodded, attempting to pry to the Squirtle off of Aadon. "The little guy won't budge."

"It's okay, Squirtle," Aadon reassured. "I'm here for you. Don't be scared, little guy." Squirtle sniffled and let go, getting inside it's Pokeball in a flash of light.

"Just like your dad," Oak smiled. "Befriending Pokemon faster than you catch them. Now then, no reason to tell lies, boy. We're all friends of your dad."

"Some of us more than others," Birch muttered under his breath.

"What do I do?" Aadon thought. "Do I make a run for it? Do I make another lie? What about my Clefairy? What about Cloak, Pokemon Tower, and my mother?"

Aadon sighed. He knew there was no better time to come clean, and no better people to come clean to. "I _am _Aadon Ronkowski, son of Dr. Ronkowski."

The three adults didn't seem surprised, which Aadon didn't believe was a big shock. At this point, the 14-year-old boy couldn't tell whether it was the pitch darkness making him nervous or the confessions he was doomed to tell. Aadon had always been fearful of the dark, but it wasn't his worst fear.

Then, the three of them extended their hands out to Aadon.

Gary laughed. "Well then, we should probably reintroduce ourselves to you!"

Aadon twitched his eye at the happy reaction. "What do you mean? You're not going to call the cops?"

"Why would we? You should have told us your dad finally sent you off on your Pokemon journey, young man," Oak responded. Aadon took a step back. There would be no lies this time. Just this once.

"My dad, have you heard of what happened to him?" Aadon asked, his mouth going dry and a sting building up at the back of his throat.

"What do you mean? Is the doctor all right?" Birch exclaimed. The wind rustled in the shadows of the great forest of Route 22, slowly picking up leaves and eroding them into the pitch black. Aadon took off his hat, which he felt would be respectful to do, although he didn't want to think the worst.

"He was kidnapped by Cloak about 3 days ago," Aadon muttered softly as he eyes grew wet. "I couldn't do anything to save him. Nobody could. I've failed him."

"Oh dear," Oak gasped, taken aback by the news. "Why would they want a man like him? Ted hasn't done wrong to anyone-not even Cloak-in his entire life."

"My goodness! Why don't you tell the police?" Birch yelled angrily at Aadon as he took several steps forward, making Aadon cringe. "Were you out playing games or something? He's your dad!"

"Calm down, Birch!" Gary shouted, placing his arms gently on Birch's shoulders. "It's not his fault! He's just a kid!"

Birch could not accept this answer, shoving the younger Oak's arms off his shoulders and trudging away into the bushes.

Aadon could only look down, but the tears fell no more. He had already cried himself out. He felt a hand remove his hat and gently rub his forehead. Aadon looked up, only to find Oak.

"Birch and Theodore were both the best of friends when they attended Goldenrod University together," Oak explained. "Although Birch and Ted haven't kept contact with each other after an argument they had over 10 years ago, it is-" Oak stopped, thinking of word to describe the reaction.

"Birch doesn't usually enjoy speaking about Dr. Ronkowski, so-" Gary could say no more.

"So, why are you out here all alone?" Oak asked, changing the subject.

Aadon sighed, explaining his story as briefly as possible-without mentioning his encounter with Warner or his fall down Celeste Gorge.

"The police just haven't been the same since valiant officers like the Jenny's retired," Gary commented. "They've become corrupt, fearful, and inactive."

"A claw mark on the wall that is similar to your Gastly's is evidence if I've seen any," Oak stated.

"I know, but they dismissed me as a child and told me and my mother to return when we had _real _evidence," Aadon replied while clenching his fists slightly.

"Hey, take it easy," Gary told Aadon. "Do you have any leads on Cloak?"

Aadon avoided direct eye contact for more than several seconds with the two Oak's, looking and down very often. "I might have, but my journey has brought me all the way to Viridian City."

"Drats!" Gary grunted.

"Well, the most reaction cluster of Cloak attacks have been directed at Pewter City from what I hear on the news-" Oak said, before being cut off.

"Pewter City? The place with the region's largest museum?" Aadon asked for confirmation.

"Well, that explains a lot," Gary said sarcastically.

"Whatever it is, we should probably head home now," Oak suggested. "And Aadon?"

"Y-yes, sir?"

"You're going to Lavender Town first thing tomorrow, young man. Your mother is probably worried sick about you."

"But-"

"It's for the best, Aadon," Gary explained to the 14-year-old, putting the 14-year-old's bucket hat back on his head. "Let's get a good night's sleep now. We'll arrange a ride back home."

"I don't believe this," Aadon thought. "They're treating me no better than those cops-they think I'm a child. I guess I-I have to do this for my dad. I'll apologize later."

* * *

><p><strong>[Unknown Location-1:31 AM]<strong>

Aadon yawned as the looked behind him one last time. The lights of the city were fading away slowly, the skyscrapers themselves now lost in the mist that now covered the night darkness like a soft blanket. Suddenly, Aadon heard a muffling voice.

"What was that?" Aadon looked around. He saw nothing.

"..tle"

"There it is again," Aadon exclaimed. Looking around, he saw nothing but trees, hills, grass, and mist in the distance. Suddenly, Aadon heard the noise more clearly, this time coming from behind. "Maybe it's in my backpack?" Aadon opened his bag and what he saw made him jump.

"Squirtle!" the tiny shell Pokemon beamed at Aadon.

"How did you get here Squirtle? I put you to rest in the Pokeball hours ago!" Aadon shouted. "Oak and the others will think I'm robbing you."

"Squirtle?"

"You probably don't even know what I'm talking about, do you?" Aadon asked tiredly. "Let's hope your Pokeball is in there." Aadon dug through his backpack, sighing in relief as he saw the red and white Pokeball of Squirtle. Next to it was Clefairy's.

"Squirtle!" Squirtle said happily while gripping Aadon's right left tightly.

"I'm already too far away from Viridian," Aadon thought, knowing he was too far away. "I can't risk getting caught. I'll just borrow the Squirtle for now. What would be dad do at this point?"

Aadon sat down on a stump, throwing his backpack in the grass and thinking as Squirtle watched curiously. Aadon looked up and chuckled. "You want to play with Clefairy?"

"Squirtle!"

"Alrighty," Aadon grinned, taking out his Pokeball. "You sure are hyper for someone who's up so late. So am I-at least I hope." Aadon tossed the Pokeball down, releasing the pink Pokemon.

"Fairy!" Clefairy shouted happily, immediately grabbing Squirtle's handing and prancing around.

"Now what _would _dad do?" Aadon said again. "He'd probably return it-no maybe he'd give it to the nearest Pokemon center-oh I don't have time for this!" Squirtle, startled by the burst of anger, fell backwards.

"Sorry," Aadon said to the Water type. "Are you sure you want to travel with me, Squirtle? The road ahead is pretty dangerous."

"Squirtle," the Pokemon nodded, probably only half understanding Aadon.

"We should probably keep walking," Aadon suggested. "I saw a sign down the road that pointed to a forest. It might be a good place to h-hide." Aadon shivered. It was cold, but that wasn't it.

"Fairy?"

"Squirtle?"

"Fine, I'm a little freaked out by the dark," Aadon said as the trio went walking down the paved dirt path into the forest trail. "I think this is the w-way to the F-forest. If we don't want to get caught, this is our best shot."

* * *

><p><strong>[Unknown Location-5:15 AM] <strong>

Two men spoke in darkness, not making contact with one another. The two could barely see anything in the room, which was pitch black.

"Tell me, Nero," a monotone female voice echoed in the room. "Did the diversion work?"

"Yes, commissioner," Nero replied. "With minimal trouble. I'm sure the scratches on the wall will mislead the family and the police."

"It's not the police I'm worried about," the women responded. "They are tools who will do anything for money. And you mentioned trouble?"

"Minimal. I had a brief encounter with an old friend, although he didn't acknowledge me and I didn't do the same."

"Tell me, Nero-how is Kent?" the women asked coldly.

"Still in the same hole," Nero mocked. "If only he had joined me and used his talents for the right thing."

"Now, I have another assignment for you-"

"Do tell, commissioner."

* * *

><p><strong>[Unknown Location-7:32 AM]<strong>

Aadon immediately opened his eyes in panic. He had fallen asleep. "I guess I can consider myself lucky." Daylight had broken out and the sun was shining brightly in the skies.

"Fairy?" Clefairy stood up and whispered quietly, not wanting to take Squirtle.

"How far did we get? I don't remember," Aadon moaned, rubbing his eyes slightly.

"Fairy," Clefairy pointed to a sign, which Aadon read.

_"This way to Pewter City." _

Aadon smiled as he read it, happy that he was on the right track. "Pewter City, here we come."

"I don't think so," a familiar voice laughed in the back. "You wouldn't survive one day in there."

Turning his head, Aadon saw Warner. Clefairy stood behind Aadon, while Squirtle woke up from its nap.

"Squirtle?"

"Warner-why are you here?" Aadon asked.

"You know you have zero chances of surviving on your own, and you're still going through with this quest to save that mad scientist?" Warner said to the boy. "That by itself takes a lot of guts. Besides, I have a bone to pick with Cloak for stealing worthy customers."

"He's not a mad s-scientist," was all Aadon could say in response.

"I've decided to train you," Warner stated, which shocked Aadon.

"After robbing me? How can I trust you?"

"Well, at least you figured out I was a robber, city kid," Warner taunted. "Your pretty bright and gutsy-for a spoiled kid." Warner sat down next to Aadon.

"Fine," Aadon said, trusting Warner. "So what do I do first?"

"You trusted me that easily?" Warner laughed. "First rule: trust no one, and keep tabs on those who are around you. It's a bad world."

"That's hard to d-do," Aadon responded, putting his head in his palms.

"Then you're weak," Warner insisted. "To discipline you, I've got a punishment."

"What's that?" Aadon said shockingly.

"You're going through that forest-alone."

* * *

><p><strong>[Viridian Forest-1:03 PM] <strong>

"Go through that forest, he says," Aadon muttered. "Need to gain discipline and guts, he says. Why did I even trust him? He could be setting me up for another theft!" Aadon had been walking for hours.

The trees in the forest stretched up far, almost touching the skies in Aadon's eyes. The sun was covered by the trees, but patches of sunlight kept the forest lit. Luckily, Aadon knew the walk was long, so he had put his Squirtle in its Pokeball and Clefairy was sitting on his head.

"You're kind of fat, Clefairy," Aadon joked slightly.

"Fairy!" Clefairy shouted, as if it had been offended.

At that moment, a Caterpie passed across the tall grass. "ACK! That's startling!"

"Fairy," Clefairy nodded, looking up to see a flock of Pidgey soaring across the maze of trees.

Suddenly, Aadon a quick wind passed Aadon, nearly knocking him back out of surprise.

"Chu!" was all Aadon heard.

"That was-"

"Hey you! Get away from my prize!" a boy's voice called out. What Aadon saw was a casual looking boy wearing a grey t-shirt and dark jeans carrying a plunger in his hand.

"What did I do?" Aadon shot backwards.

"Didn't you see that thing?" the boy shouted at him, now close up. "That was the Electric jewel of the forest."

"The what?" Aadon responded.

"Fairy?"

"A Pikachu," the boy said. "You can call me Riley, by the way."

"Aadon," Aadon said, introducing himself. "Why are you after it?"

"I've been after this one for quite a while now," Riley replied. "I want to add it to my collection of Pokemon in his forest."

"You live here?" Aadon asked.

"Nope, I'm down in Pewter City visiting my Aunt," Riley said. "You don't look like you're from around here yourself. On vacation?"

"You could say that," Aadon sighed. "Wait-why do you have that plunger?"

"It's my latest contraption-a lasso with a plunger!"

Aadon fell over, as did Clefairy.

"That's a nice invention there," Aadon lied.

"Thanks," Riley smiled. "Follow me, cause I think I know where to find that rat. It's probably messing around my traps right now."

The two began to walk through the maze of trees. Aadon couldn't help scratching himself. He had picked up a slight rash from being in contact with the tall grass for too long.

"Since you're from around Pewter, that must mean it's not too far," Aadon inferred.

"Yep, it's about a 10 minute walk from my trap set up."

"So why do you use traps instead of Pokeballs?" Aadon asked.

Riley laughed. "Oh, I use them, but only after I've captured my target. I like to test my skills against various Pokemon by myself, rather than using Pokemon. Anyways, I can't set off on my journey across my homeland until I've finished up some personal matters at home."

"Why don't you practice with a few Pokemon?" Aadon suggested.

"Cause I need to physically and mentally prepare myself for this world full of these guys before I can take care of one of these things. Your Clefairy really likes you. That means you're a pretty good trainer."

"It doesn't have to," Aadon said softly.

"Fairy," Clefairy smiled.

After several minutes of walking, the two boys came upon a campsite.

"Well, this is where I'm camping," Riley grinned, scratching his brown hair. "And that's the trap." Riley made his way to the trap. Aadon couldn't believe it. There was a patch of leaves covering the bare ground. To the right, Aadon could see a tight connection between a rope and a tree, but couldn't decipher where it was leading to. Looking up, Aadon saw a small wooden cage that was connected to the tree.

"How does it work?" Aadon smiled sheepishly. "I've always been interested in designing things."

"Okay, well, Pikachu will come this way as it usually does, and I'll cut the rope, which will drop the cage right on the Pikachu. The cage is triple the size of an average Pikachu, and it'll land right where I want it, because I've seen Pikachu come to that spot quite a lot. I'll have to do this pretty quick. Also, there isn't a Pokemon I've ever met that can resist my Aunt's Pokemon food." Riley pulled a bag out of his pocket, placing it on the leaves.

"Can you show me?" Aadon asked.

"Sure, when Pikachu arrives," Riley joked. "This Pokemon is fast, and you're only once in the moment! Besides, that should be anytime now!" As Riley began placing the Pokemon food in the leaves on the ground, the rope creaked very loudly. Although Aadon had heard it, Riley had not. A creaking noise, followed by several plunking noises startled Aadon.

"Oh no," Aadon thought in a split second, looking at Riley and then looking at the rope, which gave away. Aadon jumped for the rope, managing to grab and hold on to it. Despite being a light cage, the rope made it difficult for Aadon to hold on.

"Get another rope!" Aadon squeaked under strain. Riley, although shocked, dug through his backpack. Aadon quickly knotted the broken rope together, giving it to Riley so that he could tie a knot. Clefairy helped hold on to the rope from the right side.

Suddenly, the rope fell over, letting the cage fall downwards and onto the leaves with a loud bang.

"Rats!" Riley said angrily. "Now I'll-"

"Pika," a strange voice said. Aadon and Riley looked up, seeing the yellow Electric jewel of a Pokemon staring down at Riley. Behind it was a smaller version of a Pikachu-only it wasn't a Pikachu.

"What is that thing behind it?" Aadon exclaimed.

"It's a Pichu," Riley said in awe. "They're often only found in the Johto region since they tend to avoid interactions with humans. This is a rare sight, Aadon."

The two Electric types smiled before heading back into the maze of trees.

"So that's it?" Aadon said curiously. "I'm sorry for messing up your trap."

"Don't be," Riley smiled, hugging Aadon. "You've made my day a lot better. You're a good luck charm, bro."

"Well, I-"

"Wait, what's that?" Riley quickly interrupted. "Is that a-"

"What?" Aadon asked. They both examined the cage's inside more closely. A Bug type with a yellow body and black pupils was lying in the dirt, clearly knocked unconscious."

"I think it got hurt by the cage," Aadon pointed out.

"Maybe," Riley grinned. "But I don't need a Pokemon yet. Since it's knocked out, you take it."

"Me?" Aadon questioned. "I have two Pokemon with me and you have none."

"I don't need none," Riley winked. "Besides, I don't wanna take the time to decide who brought the cage down first! You've already made my day!"

Aadon sighed, taking out Clefairy's Pokeball.

"Fairy?" Clefairy turned its head, wondering why Aadon had taken out the Pokeball.

"You don't mind walking, do you?" Aadon asked his Pokemon. "I need something to carry Weedle in."

"Fairy!" Clefairy nodded.

Aadon smiled, capturing his third Pokemon with Clefairy's Pokeball.

"Well then, that's settled," Riley grinned. "Now I assume you have to head to Pewter City. I'll escort you out."

"Sounds good, friend," Aadon smiled softly.

"Friend," Riley shook Aadon's hand. "I'll remember these moments. It was fun."

Meanwhile, Warner looked down upon the two from a branch high up in a tree and groaned.

"He certainly screwed up the lesson of trust-but he's got some spunk for a spoiled kid."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note [61/2012]: **

**This is a long chapter, covered with several mistakes (I know this for sure). I have to admit I'm not worried about word choice right now. Everything I write is based on my plot outlines, characters, and Pokemon. The fill-in material is based on creative spurts I have. I will do revising and editing for this story after I finish it and before I move on to "Rising Blade".  
><strong>

**I'd like to thank Big B for choosing Warner to be in Chapter 36 of his Pokemon Fic: Big B's Kanto Journey. He's my idol and inspiration and I'm very flattered by his acceptance of a younger Warner. Yes, Warner is 21 in this story, but he's 20 in Big B's story. It's the same Warner, but in prequel mode.  
><strong>

**R&R.  
><strong>

**Questions:  
><strong>

**Q1: Are YOU going to participate in Allora's contest?  
><strong>

**Q2: What do you think Aadon learned from Riley?  
><strong>

**Q3: Do you think Ruby and Sapphire remakes are coming to the 3DS? It's been rumored since Generation IV.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Come to Zardia II and advertise your stories while reading the stories of others.<br>**


	7. At Iron's Edge

**[Route 2-3:03 PM]**

"Well, it's taken over a day and a half, but I've finally made it to Pewter City," Aadon said with a sigh as he looked in awe upon the vast city. Although the skyline resembled Viridian City, the buildings were painted in much more earthly colors, such as brown. "Good thing I let Clefairy, Squirtle, and Weedle rest in their Pokeballs. I wonder how Weedle is doing."

"Truthfully, you're only wimping them up," a familiar baritone voice whispered behind Aadon, making him jump back several feet. Aadon couldn't believe it was Warner, but he wasn't surprised that Warner had navigated Viridian Forest with such ease.

"I'm going to let lesson one slide," Warner commented, obviously irritated by Aadon's friendship with Riley (a stranger).

"But why is it so wrong?" Aadon retorted. "I mean, he seemed like a nice person-"

"So did I, kid," Warner argued, "and look at how I swindled you."

"Well-"

"Well what?"

"You-didn't really look nice in the first place," Aadon said while scratching his head sheepishly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Warner barked while Aadon gazed blankly with wide eyes. "Just because I don't wear neat trousers and barf-looking hats, I'm ugly looking?" Warner leaned closer to Aadon's face, making the 14-year-old boy retreat slightly.

"W-well, I-"

"This face-has wooed more women than you can ever dream of," Warner asserted.

"Really?" Aadon asked naively, sitting on the ground as Warner took a seat beside him.

"Sure, but it was all about 124 women in my life. It all started when-"

As Warner continued spinning yarns with Aadon, a figure dashed across the trees, heading for Pewter City.

* * *

><p><strong>[Pewter City Pokemon Center-5:23 PM] <strong>

Aadon walked forwards nervously; whenever he would approach counters, leaning a hand on them made him feel better.

"Hands off the counter, sir," a gentle female voice said. That didn't help an already nervous Aadon. The Nurse wore a white uniform and a white hat with a red cross stitched at the center of it.

"How m-much to put my Pokemon here?" Aadon said accidentally. "My W-weedle-"

"It's free, silly," the Nurse beamed. "Give me your Pokeballs and your Pokemon will be out in about 10 minutes if everything is well."

"Thank you, Nurse," Aadon smiled, happy that he had gotten that off of his chest. Still, he couldn't help but think about the Professors that were sure to be after him. Even if he could avoid them, he could he avoid his mother? Ironically, Aadon completely ignored the fact that he was walking straight into the greatest danger of all at the same time.

10 minutes passed and the Nurse came out holding a tray with both of Aadon's Pokeballs. "Here they are, fresh and ready to go! Your Weedle is back to perfect health!"

Aadon took his three Pokemon in his hands, thanking the Nurse and heading for the door. As he was heading for the door, something caught his eye. "What's this? A poster advertising something?"

He scanned the poster with his eyes: _Pewter City Museum. Only 20 minutes north of the city! Now featuring a new Prehistoric Pokemon exhibit! _

Aadon gasped with excitement. Archeology and innovation always intrigued Aadon, who had always wanted to become an Archeologist or an Engineer-he had always been stuck between both.

"I really want to-" Aadon uttered in his head before mentally slapping himself. "I have my dad to worry about already!" He stomped off in annoyance, clearly trying to restrain his emotions.

As Aadon marched out of the Pokemon Center disappointed, he was dragged into an alley to the side of it. Luckily, it was Warner, which Aadon felt was also not very lucky. Suddenly, Warner pulled a figure out from the dark alley. The male wore black trousers and a red long sleeve. Above all, he wore a cap Aadon could swear belonged to the national police.

"This pathetic ape here has been playing a ruse," Warner explained.

"What do you mean?" Aadon said in shock.

"Please help me," the man cried.

"Shut up!" Warner kicked his back, making him groan in pain.

"I think he's sincerely not a member of Cloak like you think!" Aadon blurted out, wondering what he had just said.

"Quit being so naive and look past this man!" Warner barked. "He's playing you like a fiddle! He's cutting your strings loose!"

Warner gave the man another kick, forcing the face of the man onto the floor. When the man's face came back up once more, his facial features had drastically changed. He looked more fierce and his cry had melted away into a low growl. His face had been drained of all compassion and misunderstanding.

"There are some things you just don't understand, kid," Warner spat, taking out a piece of paper and handing it to Aadon.

* * *

><p><strong><em>[Lavender Town-Flashback]<em>**

_"Kids and their imaginations," the senior officer scoffed. "If you have any more PHYSICAL proof, then do not hesitate to call us."_

_As the officers departed, Aadon couldn't help but notice a leaflet drop out of the pocket of one of the rookie officers.  
><em>

_Approaching the leaflet, Aadon noticed an upside-down triangle drawn on it._

* * *

><p><strong>[Pewter City-Present]<strong>

"It's just like the one the officers dropped during the investigation of my home," Aadon stated.

"Give that back, or I swear you'll regret it!" the Cloak grunt roared.

Aadon was now boiling with rage. His father was in danger, and an entire crime group of people like the officer lying before him was responsible for it.

"Y-you-my dad," Aadon uttered while gritting his teeth.

"Why are you in Pewter City?" Warner interrogated.

"Telling you doesn't help my already ruined chances back at headquarters," the grunt spat. "The reward is already ours. By the time you get there, you'll be too late. The new feature will be ours!"

"What are you trying to say, you-"

"The museum," Aadon concluded.

"What?" Warner replied, confused about Aadon's answer.

"I read a poster just several minutes ago saying a prehistoric Pokemon exhibit has opened," Aadon elaborated.

"Well what about it?" the grunt yelled.

"Tell me," Warner said rather calmly to the grunt, "you got things to do this evening? We all got things to do."

"I ain't got nothing to do with the Museum plan-" the Cloak grunt shouted, covering his mouth when he had realized his mistake.

"I only asked if you had things to do," Warner replied softly, before landing a blow on the grunt's head, knocking him out.

"Let's go," Aadon said with a hard tone.

* * *

><p><strong>[Pewter City Museum-6:20 PM] <strong>

Two police officers sat together drinking beer in a dimly-lit room. The room had security cameras monitoring every block of the museum, including the new prehistoric Pokemon exhibit.

"You reckon anyone will get by, Joe?" the older officer snorted.

"If they do, it'd have to be _right _under our noses," the younger officer smiled, scratching his goatee while twiddling with his fingers.

"You know, this place is the only place near Pewter that hasn't seen action," the older officer stated proudly. "I think that means I'm doing a good job. Back when I was five, I had always wanted-" the older officer continued rambling on as the younger officer sighed.

"I'm sorry," the younger officer whispered to himself. "To a new dawn."

"What's that, son? You look like you got a case of gogoat feet!"

"Code 124. Do it now," Joe whispered to himself.

* * *

><p><strong>[Pewter City Museum-6:20 PM] <strong>

"What do you mean someone is trying to rob our prehistoric exhibit?" the elderly male officer in blue uniform said as Aadon and Warner followed. "And why'd you bring this pig along? He smells!"

"Watch your tongue," Warner muttered as he covered his nose, clearly because the hypocritical officer had forgotten to use deodorant himself.

As the officer, Aadon, and Warner entered to lift, two officers appeared from the right, squeezing into the lift as well.

"Let us come along," the one on the left said softly.

"It could be the last," the other added.

"Now, don't be pessimistic, boys! We're talking about-" the lift opened, and the 5 walked out. The senior officer had been rendered speechless by the inconceivable scene that he was now trying to grasp.

The large room, stretching out to about double the size of the Pokemon Center, was empty-only the empty glass casings remained.

"But who?" the senior officer said, now calm.

"How can you be so calm?" Aadon shouted.

"Years of experience," he mindlessly replied.

The resource lights in the room lined up across the ceiling in pairs of two, going from left to right. The lights illuminated the textured marble floors. Fortunately, the other exhibits in the room were safe.

"Initiate lock-down sequence in this room," the officer who had been on the left side of the lift said. Suddenly, the room began flashing red, which immediately scared Aadon and startled Warner. The doors to the emergency exits and every other hallway closed shut. The elevator was closed as well. The group was now surrounded by a wall of steel.

"Why are you doing this?" Warner inquired calmly.

"The better question is-why are you trying to find us?" the elderly man's voice melted into that of a young man's. Suddenly, he gripped his nose in his hands and tore his face off. The other officer snickered manically, which indicated their affiliation with this man.

Aadon wanted to vomit before realized the mask was nothing more then a mold, but then he realized something else. "So it is Cloak."

"A mask," Warner deduced. "It was a mask."

The face meant nothing to Aadon, but the 14-year-old boy immediately recognized the voice. "You're-"

"Correct," a gruff and familiar voice hissed at Aadon. How could he forget the voice of the man who had captured him and thrown him off the bridge, nearly sending him plunging towards death itself? "Was the water nice? Or perhaps you're here because drowning once wasn't enough."

"Well that explains that," Warner deduced, thinking back to his first encounter with Aadon.

"You should know the only reason we're doing this is because you're meddling in our affairs," Nero stated.

Suddenly, an explosion cracked the wall behind Aadon and Warner. When the smoke cleared, two very familiar men stood angrily in front of the three Cloak members.

"Nero," Kent yelled. "I've finally found you again!"

"Again?" Nero chuckled. "So you finally came to the conclusion that the masked man was me? Though it's only been a few days, I'm enjoying this little reunion."

"Kid, you're alive!" Kent yelled, breathing a sigh of relief and smirking."We'll handle things from here!"

"Be our guest," Warner replied sarcastically as both he and Aadon took several steps backwards.

"I've been waiting a while for this," Byrd cracked his knuckles. "Come on out Growlithe!" In a flash of light, the orange Fire type stood in front of Byrd, ready to battle.

"Espeon! Umbreon!" Kent shouted,throwing down two Pokeballs.

"Espy!"

"Bree!"

"Growl!"

"Still got those wimpy Eevees, I see," Nero taunted, ignoring Byrd and his Growlithe."Scyther!" In a flash of light, Scyther stood on the floor, swiping its arms to show it was ready.

"Hypno!" the left grunt shouted, releasing a large golden Pokemon with a large nose.

"Hyp!" the Psychic Pokemon cried.

"Sandslash!" the right grunt shouted, releasing his Ground type Pokemon onto the field.

"Slash!" Sandslash shouted.

"I think we should step back," Warner suggested.

"But what about-"

"Don't argue. See those Pokemon? They'll tear your Pokemon up."

Aadon clenched his fists slightly before stepping back. "Come on Kent," he thought.

"Espeon, Psybeam at Sandslash!" Kent ordered. "Umbreon, set up a Reflect!" Espeon fired a Psybeam while Umbreon took several steps forward; after several moments of concentration, a square energy field had been set up in front of Kent and Byrd's Pokemon.

"Flamethrower!" Byrd commanded. Growlithe pounced forwards, igniting a large flame in its mouth and directing it towards Scyther.

"Scyther, agility!" Nero ordered. Scyther dashed to the left, avoiding the attacking while grinding its claws across the floor.

"Hypno, Psybeam counter!" Hypno swung its clock back and forth, releasing a large wave of Psychic energy so powerful that its vibes could be felt by Warner and Aadon, who were several feet away.

"Umbreon, set up a Light Screen!" Umbreon nodded, quickly setting up another energy field, which combined with the Reflect and formed a larger barrier of energy. The Psybeam attacks collided, creating a explosion that shook the entire floor.

"Slash, Scyther!" Scyther bolted forwards, avoiding the Flamethrower attack, which melted a hole into the steel wall behind the Cloak members. Scyther knocked Growlithe back, knocking it out.

"Is that all?" Nero yawned in a fake manner.

"You forgot me! Hypnosis, Espeon!" Kent ordered, which gave Nero no time to react. Every human covered his ears, hoping not to fall asleep. Kent dashed forwards to Umbreon, putting cotton in its ears. Successfully, Espeon stayed awake.

"Sandslash and Hypno are asleep," Warner commented. "That's a very smart strategy with the cotton."

"Dream Eater, Espeon!" Espeon concentrated its efforts on Sandslash. The Pokemon began rolling back and forth before slamming itself into a wall.

"Sandslash, get up!" cried its trainer. "Useless creature!"

"Slash..." Sandslash uttered before falling to the ground unconscious.

"Shadow Ball on Hypno, Umbreon!"

"Scyther, get out of Agility mode and use Quick Attack to knock back Umbreon!" Scyther galloped forwards at an incredible velocity, with only Nero being able to trace its movements. The Bug type knocked Umbreon out in the air, who flew backwards into Espeon.

"That's not good," Warner sighed.

"What?" Aadon asked.

"Espeon and Umbreon are knocked out, which means Hypno will now awaken," Warner retorted. "Are you ready for battle?"

"I-what?" Aadon whispered. "They'll murder us!"

"I don't think we have a choice," Warner grumbled.

"Is that all, Kent?" Nero cackled. "You never did stand a chance against me when we were kids, and you still don't stand a chance against me.

"Aw Rattatas!" Kent cursed. "He always was better than me at battling."

"Darn you!" Byrd shouted.

"Hypno!" the Psychic type roared, now awake.

"Oh good," Hypno's owner smiled wickedly. "Time to crush their Pokemon."

"Have any other Pokemon you were waiting to show, Warner?" Aadon asked, hoping the answer was yes.

"Unfortunately, I don't have them at hand," Warner countered. "I do have Golbat though. Do you have a Poison type?"

"Well, I have Weedle," Aadon responded.

"That bug won't win us anything!" Warner spat as the Cloak grunts directed their attention to Aadon and Warner.

"We can try, can't we?" Aadon gulped, taking out his Pokeball and pressing it. "Weedle, I need your help!" in a dazzle of light, Weedle was now slithering on the floor, its small thorn-like pointer directed at Cloak. However, its eyes remained wide and innocent.

"Worth a shot," Aadon said. "What's the plan?"

"I use Supersonic and you try a String Shot to show them down," Warner replied.

"Supersonic, Golbat!" Golbat glided forwards, preparing to release a wave of energy from its mouth.

"Cover your ears, kid!" Warner yelled. Aadon and Warner covered their ears. The members of Cloak, not unaware of the attack, closed their ears as well. The screeched penetrated the walls, causing Hypno to go on a confused rampage and start inflicting damage on itself. Unfortunately, Scyther had avoided the Supersonic by spinning around in a swift Agility, therefore closing off all sound through speed.

"String Shot, Weedle!" Weedle slithered forwards, springing off the ground and firing a white substance from its horn. The substance covered Hypno slightly, making it fall backwards.

"Poison Sting!" Aadon quickly commanded, seeing an opportunity.

"Slash, Scyther!" Nero commanded.

"Golbat, Poison Fang on Scyther!" Warner ordered. Golbat swiftly bolted towards Scyther and pressed forwards, sinking its teeth into the Bug type. The Poison Sting made contact with Hypno, effectively knocking Hypno back in pain.

"I don't believe this!" Kent grinned, smoking his bubble pipe.

"They're actually doing it!" Byrd added.

"I think you may have poisoned Hypno and I may have poisoned Scyther," Warner told Aadon, who was now beside him.

"String Sho-"

"Grab that Bug!" Hypno took the orders immediately, crushing Weedle between its large arms. "Use Psybeam!"

"Poison Fang on Hypno!" Warner commanded.

"Scyther, Quick Attack!" Nero yelled.

"Redirect your Poison Fang at Scyther!" Warner ordered, but the attack had already made contact with Golbat, knocking it through the empty glass case. "Wing Attack, Golbat!" Golbat bolted forwards, hitting Scyther in the chest, making it effectively flinch in pain.

"String Shot," Aadon ordered fast. Weedle slid downwards, narrowly avoiding the beam, which passed by Aadon and Warner, destroying the steel encasing on the lift. Weedle slowly began to enclose itself in its own string, which startled everyone except Nero.

"What's going on?" Aadon exclaimed with wide eyes.

"It's evolving," Nero said to himself.

The String Shot cocoon began to glow, the Bug type now taking a new form through metamorphosis.

When the radiant light faded away, all that was left was a yellow bug, obviously a darker shade than Weedle. The nose had vanished completely and the eyes had grown in size. Strangely, it maintained perfect balance on the tip of its bottom.

"Poison Sting!" Aadon told his new Pokemon, seizing advantage of the shock. Kakuna pressed forwards, knocking out Hypno.

"A Kakuna," Warner said. "The spoiled kid managed to do something right. I don't know how that Bug is going to help regardless."

"No!" the grunt yelled.

"Maybe this kid is learning something," Warner smirked.

By this time, loud sirens could be heard outside.

"The cops are getting close," Nero thought. "The game has just begun, Kent."

"Scyther, return," Nero commanded. Scyther became engulfed by a red laser, now off the battlefield. The other grunts returned their Pokemon as well.

"Do it now," Nero smirked as he and the other members of Cloak positioned their arms upwards. A grappling hook suddenly came out of their sleeves, taking them upwards as an explosion rattled the top of the ceiling. Other grunts began coming downwards, at least 15 in number. Similarly, they all wore dark-black Cloaks with hoods. Only flashing green eyes could be seen from inside their uniforms as they gathered around Aadon, Kent, Byrd, and Warner.

"Come back, Nero!" Kent yelled, but Nero and his grunts had vanished, leaving behind 15 more.

"Surrender or be killed," one of them said in a persuasive tone.

"Darn! Golbat can't fight," Warner said, holding his Golbat. "It's up to you kid!"

"I-there's over 10 of them!" Aadon quivered. "I guess I h-have no choice! Time to send out Squirtle and Clefairy to help my Kakuna!"

Suddenly, another explosion rattled the room, this time revealing an opening and a man with spiky-brown hair and squinted eyes. Next to him was a gigantic Pokemon made entirely of steel, with a face menacing enough to scare all 15 grunts away.

"Steelix, wipe them away with Iron Tail!"

"ROAAAAAARRRRRRRRR!" Steelix screeched as it turned leftwards, knocking all of the grunts backwards with the turn of its large glowing tail.

"Retreat!" one of the Cloak members called. They all stretched their arms up, releasing grappling hooks that carried them above the ceiling and to the outside.

"They got away again," the man said calmly. "I hope they think twice next time."

The man then turned his head to his awe-stricken spectators. "Are you guys okay?"

Aadon pointed his finger, still shaken up from the battle.

"Aren't you-"

"Call me Brock," the man extended his hand to Aadon.

* * *

><p><strong>Update [82/2014]: For previous readers, I've made some adjustments to this chapter, mostly in the way Nero converses with Kent and Aadon. This is to fix some glaring future plot holes and do some minor correction. **


	8. The Test of Strength

**[Outside of Museum-6:32 PM] **

Aadon stood silently, his eyes still wide with fear and his legs quivering from the very recent action he had seen. All of the feelings of a golden adventure had vanished, and out of the ashes a realization came to Aadon's mind: he was following a very slim chance. What if Aadon had made all the wrong assumptions about the claw marks?

"Hey kid, snap out of it," Warner shouted, snapping his fingers at Aadon's face. Aadon blinked.

"Wh-What?" was all Aadon could say in response. Aadon had been zoning out for at least 10 minutes, for the scene in front of him had developed into a police investigation. There were markers, police vehicles, officers running about, and several media crews.

"We should high-tail it out of here before the media exposes you for what you are," Warner pushed Aadon across to the side as they hopped the fence of the crime scene and made off. Fortunately, no one was interested in a messy-looking boy in a bucket hat and his scruffy-looking partner.

Several minutes into walking down the path to Pewter City, an eerily familiar voice called Aadon.

"Aadon. That is your name, isn't it?" With the media gone, only the sounds of wild Pokemon could be heard on the trail. Aadon turned his head.

"Brock?" Aadon asked. With nothing but the moonlight shining above the trail, the familiar features of the man's face were silhouetted in neat darkness. Still, Aadon could make out the spiky-brown hair and the unique eyes. Strangely, Aadon wasn't the least bit scared that Brock had found out who he was.

"Your secret is safe with me," Brock said with a light smile.

"B-but why?" Aadon questioned. In all the excitement, Aadon had almost forgotten that Clefairy was asleep in his arms.

"What would be accomplished if you went back to Lavender Town? Sit down and let me tell you a little story."

Warner took a seat as well, but refused to make eye contact with Brock. Aadon didn't mind the fact that the dirt was somewhat moist, as his clothes had already become torn and damaged from all the events he had experienced in the past week.

"You might be wondering how I know you, Aadon," Brock started.

"Because of my father, Dr. Ronkowski," Aadon guessed.

Brock focused his eyes downwards, giving a half-nod and wondering off into his own thoughts. "I don't think he's ready yet, but he has to learn sometime."

"Look's like he's pondering something," Warner thought.

"Well, let me tell you why I'm letting you continue down this path," Brock began. "You're more valuable than you think Aadon. I don't know if you know this, but Cloak wants more than just your father's scientific prowess. They want to conquer Kanto, and they plan to do it with something in the coming months, but we don't know what it is."

"How can I be more valuable than you think?" Aadon said softly. "I'm just a 14-year-old kid."

"Look," Brock focused his eyes on Aadon, "I believe everything happens for a reason. I believe Ash Ketchum and I became lifelong friends for a reason. I've encountered many legendary Pokemon in my life, and now nothing can convince me that there isn't a such thing as destiny. I believe it was your destiny to leave home and go after your father against all odds."

"Destiny?" was all Aadon could utter. Aadon's father, despite being a man of science and reasoning, also believed in values such as karma, fate, and destiny. All Aadon could remember now was the story of the king and the Vulpix. "Evil will always be punished, so you should never be evil."

"What a load of-" Warner muttered off. "I would have been punished ages ago."

"So why are you telling me all of this, Brock?" Aadon questioned once more.

"I have a feeling it was my destiny to tell you these things," Brock grinned. "But even destiny is not written in stone, Aadon."

"It isn't?"

"You make choices everyday, whether it is going here or going there, leaving home or staying home, or even fighting gyms or becoming a Pokemon ranger. It is solely up to you to make your destiny your fate."

"What?" Warner scratched this head.

"Brock," Aadon twiddled with his thumbs quietly. "I need to get to Saffron City. That is the last lead I have on my dad."

"Saffron City-" Brock pondered. "The fastest way to get there is through Mt. Moon, which leads you to Cerulean City. After that, you need to head south of Cerulean City to get to Saffron. The journey is normally about 2 days through Mt. Moon, 2 days to Cerulean, and a day's walk to Saffron."

"If that's the fastest way," Aadon agreed, tense that 5 days would be too late.

"You can crash with me if you want," Brock sighed, "You won't be able to pass through Mt. Moon for 3 days."

"Why?" Aadon jumped, his heart suddenly dropping like an anchor.

"A recent rockslide has left Mt. Moon's entrance caved in. They expect it to be about 3 days before the rubble is cleared."

"Well, I'll be the plucked-out feather of a Dodrio's tail, we're stuck," Warner laughed.

"Say-I have a proposition, Aadon," Brock smiled. "Since you're stuck here, why don't you challenge my gym? I'll get you registered for the league."

"How can I think of fighting gyms at a time like this?" Aadon said in panic. "Can't you tunnel me through Mt. Moon with your Steelix?"

"Unfortunately, that would be too dangerous, and I'd be damaging federal property," Brock explained.

Aadon fell to the ground again, broken down. "I guess this is a time like any other to look for the silver lining in the clouds."

"My 15-year-old daughter, Alaina, is going to take over Pewter Gym for me now that she's ready. I feel like the responsibilities of the gym should pass on down to her so I can continue my training uninterrupted by a gym challenge everyday at Mt. Moon. I want you to be her 1st challenger."

"Isn't that a bit easy?" Aadon said with wide eyes, meaning no offense.

"She can handle her own against me and my brother Forrest," Brock defended.

"Is Forrest retiring so soon?" Warner asked out of genuine curiosity.

"He wants to travel the world and hone his skills," Brock explained. "It's getting kind of late, so let's go to my house."

* * *

><p><strong>[Unknown Location-7:31 PM]<br>**

"The mission was a success, I presume?" a cold female voice said, piercing through the darkness.

"It was," Nero bluntly responded.

"Is there something you're not telling me, Nero?" the voice hissed in a questioning authority.

"I ran into Kent again, commander," Nero replied, again crude with his reply. "and this time, he had help from a ruffian and a little brat."

"That child-are we speaking of the same child you captured just recently?" the commander queried in a calm manner. "It seems like your past failures are coming back to haunt you. You should have murdered the child when you had the chance."

"I-" Nero said in irritation, but silenced himself after receiving a cold glare from his superior.

"We shall discuss this no further," the commander ordered. "So long as the scientist is in our possession, we can proceed with the plans." She gave a look at Nero, as if she were looking for certain approval.

"He is on his way to interrogation and briefing at our Saffron City headquarters, commander," Nero stated.

"Excellent," she whispered in the dark.

* * *

><p><strong>[Brock's House-8:02 PM] <strong>

The house had very earthly colors to it. The walls were yellow, the floors were tiled in a light brown tile material, and the furniture was made of wooden material (excluding the soft leather sofas).

"Alaina should be here anytime now," Brock said with a light smile. "She's probably off training at the gym."

"I guess it'll be fun to battle her," Aadon mumbled quietly, still tense about Saffron City's challenges.

"Is your friend going to be joining us?" Brock smiled.

"Well, he's not exactly my friend, but-" they both turned their heads to see Warner had disappeared, leaving the backyard screen door connecting to the kitchen open.

"Yo pops, I'm home," said a young female voice as the door slammed shut. When she made her way to the kitchen, Aadon gawked. She had sharp red eyes, almost like those of an elegant serpent, brown-ruffled hair reaching down to her neck, and a skin complexion that was slightly lighter than Brock's own. She wore green cargo pants, and a black-sleeved purple baseball shirt with an orange number 33 stitched onto the backside.

"Uhh, Aadon?" Brock said in a monotone manner. "You're drooling on my table."

"Huh, wha?" Aadon jumped back slightly, falling off his seat. Clefairy, who was now seated next to Aadon, put its palm to its face, shaking its head back and forth.

"You okay there, bucket boy?" Alaina sighed, reaching her hand out. "Get up, will you? Who is this wimp?"

"Easy there, Alaina," Brock said softly. "His name is Aadon, and he's from Lavender Town. You two are probably too young to remember this, but you guys played tag together in my backyard when his dad came for a visit."

"Really, pops? Did the wimp need a helmet to play tag?"

"I am not a wimp, now can you please ease up on the insults?" Aadon sighed, getting up and wiping the drool off his face.

"Anybody who wears a hat like that in my book is a wimp," Alaina remarked.

"I am not a wimp," Aadon groaned.

"Fairy!" Clefairy laughed.

"And a Clefairy? Could you have a weaker starter Pokemon?" Alaina said crudely, annoying Clefairy.

"Alright, calm down, Alaina," Brock moaned. "He's your first challenger."

"Do I have to be a gym leader?" Alaina sighed. "Why can't I be something more powerful, like the Frontier Brain mom is?"

"You don't just get to be a Frontier Brain, you know," Brock chuckled. "Lucy went on to become Pike Queen after fighting her way through the battle frontier. Anyways, it's time to eat. Have some of my Pokemon food, Clefairy."

"Fairy!"

"Aadon, you should take out your other Pokemon."

"He has other Pokemon? Did he find them handed to him on a silver platter. Maybe you found them in a cage or a forest," Alaina cackled.

"Sort of," Aadon scratched his head.

"Let's make the battle-tomorrow at 4 since Alaina is already kind of heated," Brock grinned.

"You _can _fight, can't you?" Alaina teased.

* * *

><p><strong>[Route 2-5:02 AM]<br>**

"Why am I out here so early in the morning?" Aadon groaned. The sky was still dark and there were several boulders of various sizes laid out on an open field of dirt mixed with grass.

"This is exactly what the Pewter City gym setup looks like. Dirt and grass mixed with boulders on the field," Warner explained. "You have to use your surroundings to your advantage, but moreover, we have to buff up you and your Pokemon. This is the test of strength!"

"The test of strength?" Aadon asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah-now drop and give me 20!" Warner ordered.

"Why me? Why not my Pokemon," Aadon mumbled. Warner thought about this, scratching the hair under his headband.

"You're right. Take out your Pokemon, city boy," Warner smiled slightly. Aadon took out his Pokeballs and threw them down, releasing Clefairy, Squirtle, and Kakuna to the field.

"Drop and give me 20 too!" Warner commanded Squirtle and Clefairy. Squirtle whimpered, dropping down to hit at least one pushup, albeit unsuccessfully.

"You too, pinky!" Warner yelled at Clefairy.

"Do what he says," Aadon groaned, continuing his pushups. "But why do I got to do them."

"The trainer has to be just as much on the edge as his Pokemon," Warner elucidated calmly.

"What about Kakuna?" Aadon sighed. "He doesn't have arms and legs."

"I told you that Pokemon is hopeless," Warner chastised.

"Kuna," Kakuna laid on the ground, almost depressed.

"I don't think you're useless, Kakuna," Aadon told his Poison type.

"Oh, brother," Warner gagged.

"I got an idea," Aadon said, snapping his fingers. He took Kakuna in his hands, laying the Bug Pokemon against a stone straight up. Kakuna was now facing a large boulder.

"I want you to practice your Poison Sting," Aadon grinned, making Kakuna lean towards him affectionately.

"I have to admit," Warner thought, "that's actually kind of smart. Maybe this loser has a future-as a bug catcher. Hah."

"1-2-3-4-5"

"KEEP GOING! You too, Squirtle!" Warner shouted.

"Squir-TLE-SQUIR-TLEEEE!" Squirtle fell to the ground, letting out bubbles from its mouth. Aadon fell to his side.

"Do that again," Aadon ordered quickly.

"Squir-tle!" Squirtle shouted, releasing another wave of bubbles.

"I think your little guy just learned Bubble," Warner deduced. "Pretty wimpy attack, but it'll have to do for type advantage since all you got other than Squirtle is pinky."

"FAIRY!" Clefairy said under its breaths, almost insulted.

* * *

><p><strong>[Lavender Town-7:02 AM]<strong>

"Gastly," a purple orb said, floating on the porch of Aadon's house.

_"Still hanging there, you little troublemaker?" a voice said from above. It was a Gengar._

_"What do you want?" Gastly said with a sigh. "There's no use in playing pranks without Aadon around. He always had the best ideas AND the best reactions."  
><em>

_"Sounds like you've got a case of trainer fever," Gengar grinned.  
><em>

_"Well, he was never really my trainer to began with, but-"  
><em>

_"As far as I'm concerned, he left you," Gengar suggested, "just like my owner left me here. Dead, no. Abandoned, yes. He abandoned me here."  
><em>

_"What's your point?" Gastly mumbled.  
><em>

_"Alright, so he didn't leave me. So he died. So he loved me," Gengar sighed. "I wasn't there for my owner. I was just a wee little Gastly, but even then I could have helped! You've gotta go help Aadon, because he could be in danger."  
><em>

_"But I've never ventured out of Lavender Town, and I don't even know if he's alive," Gastly replied.  
><em>

_"If you truly have a bond with him, you'll now what's right in your soul," Gengar responded.  
><em>

_"Even if I can't find him, I have to make amends for letting him be captured by those evil guys!" Gastly said fiercely.  
><em>

And there was Mrs. Ronkowski in the corner, tending to her garden and wondering where she could ask for help next. All she could here was the sound of the rustling leaves and the voices of two Ghost types talking in the early reaches of the morning.

"Gastly-GAASTLY!"

"GENGAR!

Mrs. Ronkowski sighed, brushing the voices off as nothing important.

* * *

><p><strong>[Pewter City Gym-3:55 PM] <strong>

Aadon set foot in the gym, alone because Warner had decided not to show up as usual.

"Well, are you ready to face my wrath?" Alaina's voice said as the lights turned on, revealing the very same gym Warner had deduced: a field with giant boulders and a white Pokeball chalked at the center.

"Oh, was that supposed to scare me?" Aadon laughed, feeling more confident than usual. "Believe me, as a resident of Lavender Town, I've dealt with scarier."

"Got a spunk, do ya?" Alaina grinned with overconfidence. "Let's make this battle a 3 on 3. I have 3 Pokemon and you have 3 Pokemon."

"I'll be happy to referee this one," Brock smiled, going over to the middle of the field. "This battle will take place between Alaina Slate of Pewter City and the challenger, Aadon Ronkowski of Lavender Town! This will be a 3 on 3 match with no substitutions and no items. The challenger may chose the first Pokemon."

"Squirtle! I chose you!" Aadon tossed his Pokeball. He was well prepared for this battle, and so were his Pokemon. Squirtle jumped up and down in confidence, which was usual considering its docile attitude.

"Type advantage first, eh?" Alaina rolled her eyes. "I thought you were more than that, bucket boy. Geodude, I need you."

In a flash of light, Alaina's Geodude stood ready for battle. Aadon focused his eyes on his Squirtle, nodding in agreement to something.

"Bubble Squirtle!" Aadon commanded. Squirtle charged towards Geodude, firing a flurry of glowing bubbles at a rapid pace.

"Jump and use Mega Punch!" Alaina ordered. Geodude pushed up using its arms, its right hand glowing white. Squirtle evaded to its right, bouncing off its right hand and retaining balance.

"Counter with Bubble," Aadon ordered. Squirtle raised its mouth forward, releasing another flurry of bubbles.

"Use Defense Curl!" Geodude rolled up its arms and legs, turning into what looked like an ordinary boulder. Bracing itself, Geodude took the wave of bubbles, appearing unscathed by the attack.

"That's a strong Geodude," Aadon thought, "but I don't think it can go on forever like that."

"Use Bubble!" Squirtle began firing another relentless wave of glowing bubbles.

"Mega Punch through the Bubble attack, Geodude," Alaina smiled confidently. Geodude slammed its fist into Squirtle, cutting the Bubble attack in the process. Squirtle began flying backwards, losing control."

"Whip back with Withdraw," Aadon commanded. Squirtle hid its arms and legs, turning into somewhat of a shell fortress. The Water type ricocheted off the boulder with a roll, flying back towards Geodude.

"Rapid Spin, Squirtle!" Aadon grinned. Squirtle's spinning shell began shooting spinning water and flying at an even faster pace towards Geodude.

"Mega Punch that little thing!" Alaina spat. Geodude's right hand began to glow as it slammed in Squirtle's direction. The two attacks collided, pushing Geodude backwards.

"Bubble barrage!" Aadon yelled. Squirtle began attacking Geodude with a relentless attack of bubbles, knocking Geodude off its feet and out of the fray.

"I guess I underestimated you, bucket boy," Alaina said, not smiling as she returned her Geodude.

"Squir-tle!" Squirtle panted.

"Alright. Sudowoodo, come on out!" Alaina threw out a Pokeball, revealing a creature even Aadon had not seen in person. The brown tree-like Pokemon punched aggressive back and forth, waiting for a battle.

"You really like aggressive Pokemon, don't you?" Aadon said sarcastically. "and a Pokemon from Johto too."

"Cry me a river," Alaina replied. "Attack with Rock Throw!"

"SUDO!" Sudowoodo cried, grabbing a large boulder. "WOODO!" Sudowoodo tossed the boulder. The boulder flew towards Squirtle at a fast pace.

"Avoid it!" Squirtle jumped, taking a hit to the leg from the boulder and falling down in pain.

"Brick Break on Squirtle!" Alaina cried. Sudowoodo pounced onto Squirtle, hitting the tiny Water type with multiple Brick Break attacks, making it cry in anguish. The glowing arms kept barraging the shelled Pokemon.

Aadon gritted his teeth. "That's enough! Stop it!"

"Try me," Alaina laughed, "or is your Squirtle a weakling?"

"Return, Squirtle!" Aadon returned his Water type. "That was unnecessary, Alaina!"

"It's not my fault your Squirtle couldn't handle the might of my Sudowoodo," Alaina teased.

"Clefairy, I need you," Aadon threw his Pokeball, releasing his Normal type Pokemon. "Move in with Pound!"

"Type advantage is reversed this time, isn't it?" Alaina reminded Aadon. "Brick Break!" Sudowoodo's branches began shining white as it dashed towards Clefairy.

"Take the move back and roll behind that rock!" shouted Aadon as he saw the velocity of the attack. Clefairy came to a halt, rolling to its right and falling behind a rock. Sudowoodo slammed into the rock, nearly cracking a hole through the middle of the large boulder.

"Jump above the boulder and slam a Pound onto Sudowoodo!" Aadon commanded. Clefairy rolled to the top of the rock and slammed its fist onto Sudowoodo, making the Rock type fall back in pain.

"Low Kick, quick!" Alaina shouted. Sudowoodo slammed its foot up, knocking Clefairy backwards. "Follow up with a Rock Throw!" Grabbing the broken boulder by its largest part, Sudowoodo prepared to slam the rock into Clefairy.

"Encore and dodge!" Aadon quickly screamed. Clefairy's hands began to glow as it braced itself, feinting to the left at the last minute, making Sudowoodo crash into the rock-hard ground.

"Brick Break quick!" ordered Alaina. Much to her dismay, Sudowoodo picked up a rock and threw it, giving Clefairy an easy evasion.

"Don't you remember?" Aadon grinned slightly. "Encore makes your last move the only move you can use!"

"I know THAT!" Alaina spat. "Rock throw again!" Sudowoodo threw several rocks, which Clefairy easily evaded.

"I knew that rock dodging session would come in handy," Aadon thought happily.

"Let's kick off with a Metronome!" Aadon commanded, pressing his luck. Clefairy began motioning its arms, creating a Metronome with its glowing fingertips. Suddenly, Clefairy began charging its left hand, but remained immobile.

"Focus Punch?"

"Hit it with Rock Throw!" Alaina quickly ordered. Sudowoodo hit Clefairy, knocking the Normal type down. As Clefairy fell to the floor, it raised its fist in an uppercut, slamming Sudowoodo with Focus Punch.

"Hit it!" Aadon shouted. Clefairy fell to the ground, defeated.

"Clefairy is unable to battle," stated Brock. "The winner is-"

"Woodo..." cried Sudowoodo weakly as it collapsed to the ground.

"It's a tie! Both are down to one Pokemon!"

"Alright then. This is a pretty good battle, bucket boy, so I think I'll use my Arbok," Alaina laughed.

"But isn't this a Rock type gym?" Aadon questioned.

"Gym's don't necessarily have types," Brock explained. "They can be all purpose types like Gary's gym in Viridian City. Besides, if the league mandates a type you must have, you are only required to have at least one Pokemon of that type."

"Arbok, come on out," Alaina smiled as her Purple Poison type slithered on the ground, raising its fangs and waiting for battle.

"Fight Poison with Poison," Aadon shuddered. "Just like we practiced, Kakuna."

Aadon did not want to use Kakuna, but he still had faith in his Bug Pokemon. "Let's show that Arbok your strength and might."

Kakuna stood still on the field, waiting for orders.

"Use a Poison Sting," Alaina shouted to Arbok. Arbok began firing glowing stingers at Kakuna.

"Counter with your own Poison Sting now!" Aadon ordered. Kakuna's eyes began to glow as it released its own barrage of stingers. The attacks collided.

"Move in and use a Bite attack!" Arbok began slithering towards Kakuna at a speed so rapid, Aadon and Kakuna had little time to react.

"String Shot!" Kakuna fired several waves of white substance at Arbok, each one missing as Alaina's Poison type evaded from left to right, inching closer.

"Bite, now!" Arbok bit into Kakuna, making it fall to the ground.

"Kakuna!" Aadon gritted his teeth.

"Bite again!"

"Not so fast! Use Harden!" Aadon ordered. Kakuna began to radiate a faint white, shining in the wake of the resource lights in the gym. Suddenly, Arbok jumped back in pain.

"What?" Alaina shouted. "How?"

"Your Arbok just bit the equivalent of hard steel," Aadon remarked, proud of his Kakuna.

"Slam your tail into Kakuna!" Arbok swept backwards, slamming its large tail into Kakuna, which knocked Kakuna back into a large and rugged boulder. "Now Poison Sting!"

"Use your Poison Sting!" Aadon yelled, but it was too late as Arbok's flurry of stingers impaled Kakuna.

"KAKUNA!" Aadon shouted, wanting to rush into the field.

"Ka..." it uttered as the remnants of its golden-brown shell began to crack and a white light radiated from inside the darkest depths of the shell.

"Whoa-" was all Alaina could say.

"It's evolving," Brock smiled.

Suddenly, a shining white Pincer came out of the seemingly empty shell. As the new Pokemon popped out, a new form was evident. It had red eyes, black sensers, and wings that fluttered at very swift speeds. Its golden-brown complexion had been replaced with a yellow and black stripe coating.

"Beedrill," Aadon beamed. "Let's get this show back on the road."

"Beedrillll!" cried the newly-evolved Pokemon, testing its wings by flying endless loops in the air.

"Poison Sting, Arbok!" Alaina ordered, seizing the moment.

"Dodge and counter with your own," Aadon commanded. Beedrill evaded the incoming attack with ease, firing its own glowing pincers.

"Evade!" Arbok slipped to its left, avoiding the Poison Sting attack that crashed into the rocks behind.

"Fury Attack!" Beedrill began gliding with speed towards Arbok, landing a hit so fast that neither Aadon nor Alaina could see it coming.

"Slam!" Arbok knocked Beedrill back with the strength of its tail, but the Bug type came knocking back with another Fury Attack.

"Poison Sting!" Both Aadon and Alaina yelled in unison. Both Pokemon launched into a Poison Sting attack at close range, creating a strong and dusty explosion that shook the entire arena.

"Whoa!" Brock yelled. "That's my girl!"

When the smoke cleared, both Pokemon were locked up in a struggle, neither letting up, with each gazing with burning desire into the others eyes.

"Hit with Slam again!"

"Fury Attack!"

Again both Pokemon locked up in a strong collision, each trying to break through.

"Beedrilll!"

"Arbooook!"

Beedrill began to slip backwards.

"Hit that Bug with another Poison Sting to the face!" Alaina commanded. Arbok took the moment, hitting Beedrill backwards with a barrage of Poison Sting attacks.

"Move to the right, and hit with Fury Attack!" Beedrill managed to evade the rest of the Poison Stings instead of fighting head on, and hit Arbok in counter, knocking the large purple Poison type backwards.

Arbok cringed in pain, giving Aadon the moment he was looking for. "Hit with another barrage of Fury Attack!" Beedrill dashed forwards in the air, knocking its pincers into Arbok.

"Arboooook!" Arbok cried in pain as it skid across the floor.

"No!" Alaina shouted.

"Arboook.." the Poison type cried weakly before fainting.

"BEEDRILL!" Aadon shouted with joy, running each to his Pokemon and hugging it.

"Beedrill!" Beedrill responded happily.

"Wow," was all Brock could say. He ran up to Aadon. "That was the best battle I've seen-since maybe Forrest fought this one kid called Drake several years back!"

"Drake?" Aadon questioned as he continued caressing his Pokemon.

"Nevermind it!" Brock beamed at his daughter. He was a proud father today. As he and Aadon walked up to Alaina, they noticed she was on the floor, her face covered up by her arms.

"Shake each others' hands," Brock told his daughter. However, she had not accepted defeat so soon.

"I refuse to believe this kid is worthy of the Boulder Badge! That match was a complete fluke!"

"What makes you think that?" Brock sighed.

"It's-just not fair! I will not give him the badge!"

"Keep it if you want," Aadon smiled, sitting beside Alaina. "I just fought you cause your dad insisted I do. I've got better things to do than the league."

"Like what? Brag that you beat me?" Alaina said softly in reply. Her face was covered with tears. Suddenly, he felt regret at anything he had said.

Alaina ran out of the gym immediately, using her arms to cover her tears.

"Alaina," Brock sighed. "You guys got along so well when you were kids. I just wish things could have stayed that way. See if you can convince her."

"What do you think is wrong?" Aadon asked.

"She just isn't used to losing too much, but I still feel like its more than that."

"I feel bad for her," Aadon thought, somewhat sympathizing with her feeling. "Maybe I should go try to give a talk."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note [717/2012]: **

**It's been way over a month, but I haven't given up! In fact, I saved this chapter up because I knew it would exceed my usual 3,000-3,500 words! I'm so glad this chapter is finally up! First the questions! I originally wanted to make Forrest the gym leader, but since this story takes place somewhat 20 years after Ash began his journey, I made the assumption that Forrest wanted to travel.  
><strong>

**Q1: Do you think Alaina should join Aadon on his journey anytime soon?  
><strong>

**Q2: Do you think Alaina is taking the loss too hard, or is it something deeper than that?  
><strong>

**Q3: Did anyone else catch the cameo "mentioning" at the end?  
><strong>


	9. Bitter Sweet

**Author's Note: For the Drake Smith cameo I made last chapter, I did not pay attention to the Drake Smith timeline. It was just a friendly cameo mentioning. Without further ado, here is chapter 9.**

* * *

><p><strong>[Outside of Pewter City Gym-4:05 PM]<strong>

With the winter seasons coming in and the year coming to a close, the sun set to rest early in the afternoon. Now, the sun was fading across the horizon painted by rugged mountains, leaving an orange aura in the sky. There was Alaina, lying in the grass and remembering every move she made in the battle and wondering where her rock-hard strategy failed.

Aadon slowly approached Alaina, feeling a slight pang of guilt for whatever reason. It was just there, like Smokescreen in his chest.

"You okay, Alaina?" Aadon asked, sitting next to Alaina.

"Never been better," Alaina tried to utter with optimism, though Aadon could hear the cracks in her frail voice.

"No, you're not," Aadon deduced. Slowly, as more of his fears washed away, his calm and intelligent demeanor was seeping through the chords of his voice. The gym battle had certainly leveled his confidence which he had long before lost along with his father. But that fear clung onto his heart-he would have to face Cloak one day.

"So now you think you're a philosopher and wise Pokemon master just because you beat me in a battle?" Alaina questioned while looking up. Her cheeks were reddish and wet with tears.

"No, but I know when somebody is sad for a reason," Aadon sighed. "What's the story behind your power-hungry attitude?"

"What's the story behind the lame bucket hat?" Alaina spat.

Aadon took a deep breath and let out a deep sigh, removing the hat and letting his scruffy black hair be touched by the rays of the orange aura. "This hat is the last thing I have to remember my father by."

"I'm sorry," Alaina said dejectedly.

"No-not dead-but-" Aadon stopped.

"But what?" Alaina asked, now looking into his guilt-ridden eyes.

"He was kidnapped by Cloak around a week ago," Aadon forced out. "I've been on a endless goose chase fighting an enemy I don't even think I can handle."

Alaina stood up, wiping the tears off of her face. "If you can take down somebody who's been putting work into training for more than 5 years with just a week's worth of training, who's to say you can't take down those petty thieves?"

Aadon forced a smile. "I-I don't know, Alaina, but that's my problem, and you have to promise me the same thing your dad has."

Alaina looked at him with wide eyes. "What?"

"Do not tell Professor Oak, Gary, and Birch about my whereabouts. He's my father and I don't want anyone else to get hurt for my expenses."

"You-you're really serious about this, aren't you, bucket boy?"

The two glared into each other's eyes in silence, until Aadon broke the silence. "What's your story?"

"What?"

"Your story."

"I haven't seen my mom ever since my parents divorced when I was 5. I guess-I didn't-I love her, okay-I can't discuss this."

"Why not?" Aadon asked. "It's not like she's abandoned you."

"Shut up, bucket boy!" Alaina's voice became fragile once more, and she broke into tears once more, running back inside the gym.

"Alaina, I-" suddenly, a rugged hand was waving near Aadon's face.

"Cut the nice guy act," Warner chastised. "Remember why you're on this quest in the first place and forget her as well as Brock."

Aadon hesitantly went for nod, finishing it with confidence in Warner's words.

* * *

><p><strong>[Pewter City Gym-The Next Morning]<strong>

"So Aadon didn't pass this way?" Professor Oak asked Brock once more.

"No-I still can't believe he's missing," Brock lied. "One of us has to find him. I certainly don't expect the police to do anything."

"The Police force has become corrupt in the last 15 years," Oak sighed. "

"What about Squirtle?" Birch reminded Oak.

"He's in good hands," Oak reassured Birch, to which Birch agreed.

"We should probably give the news we have to his mother in Lavender Town," Gary stated.

"It'd be better if we went down there and gave the news personally," Birch said immediately, something the other two had not expected of him.

"Are you sure, Birch?" Oak asked, to which Birch nodded.

"I'll go do it myself. I have catching up to do with the Mrs," Birch said with a forced smile upon his face.

"And what about us?" Oak questioned.

"Resume your normal duties," Birch assured. "We shouldn't inform the gym leaders and the elite four of this predicament just yet. We have to gather more evidence and make more observations."

"Then it's settled. We tell only our closest acquaintances," Oak stated, to which the others nodded.

* * *

><p><strong>[Mt Moon Path-11:03 AM]<strong>

"Beedrill!" said Aadon's Bug type.

"That's the 5th battle we've had already, Beedrill," Aadon sighed. "Can we give it a rest?"

"Drill!" Beedrill whined, pumping it's pincers in the air.

"I think you've got a Pokemon that is the complete opposite of your personality there," Warner smirked. "Normally, opposites attract, but you're a pretty odd city boy as it is."

"Will you stop calling me city boy?" Aadon groaned. "I'm not that spoiled."

"Don't look now, but you've got another challenger coming," Warner grinned, pointing to a red-haired boy in a grey t shirt and dark jeans running towards the group. Next to him was a Pokemon following sluggishly. It had glowing red skin, two eyes, spores on its back, and moderately-sharp pincers.

"Paras!" Paras panted.

"Come on, Paras!"

Aadon had been fighting for at least an hour, in short battles that didn't seem to impress Warner the least bit. However, Beedrill was still itching for more.

"Err, I think your Paras-"

"That's a mighty fine Beedrill you got there!" the boy said, now standing beside Aadon and Warner. "Give it some of my Pokemon food, I will here.."

"Well, I don't-"

"Oh, nonsense!" the boy took out food from the large grey backpack he was carrying. The bites he poured into a napkin looked like chocolate coated malties, but Aadon knew his mouth would not tell him the same thing. "My Paras doesn't seem to like the food, so I'll see if your Beedrill does!"

"So, did you want to battle the city boy here, kid?" Warner asked, making Aadon groan. Beedrill nodded frantically, clearly in approval of the food, although Aadon could have guessed it was approval for the battle as well.

"Well, we're about a mile from itself, so why don't we get to the foot of Mt. Moon since it looks like we're both headed that way?"

"Yeah, but isn't Mt. Moon closed?" Aadon said, remembering Brock's warning of federal damage.

"We could always get a head start. They said Mt. Moon was closed, not the trail itself!" the boy said excitedly.

"I think the trail is closed off too," Aadon said weakly.

"Oh, don't worry your bollocks off, mate! We're just getting a head start on the journey."

"But Mt. Moon doesn't reopen until tomorrow at noon," Warner said slowly, hoping the boy could process the information.

"Never too early to be early, I always say!" the boy grinned.

And so, after wrapping up their respective materials, the group (including Warner) After a few moments of silence, Aadon broke the awkward moment of the silent walk. "What's your name?"

"Eric at your service, mate!" the boy replied.

"I'm Aadon, and this is my stalker-uh-friend, Warner," Aadon said purposely, making Warner cringe.

"Getting a little moody, are we?" Warner said sarcastically.

"Speak for yourself," Aadon smiled. "So what are you doing out here, Eric?"

"I've been camping out along the path before the trail for almost a week now!" Eric responded optimistically. "I collect rocks among other things from places for the sheer enjoyment of it. Of course, I'm also interning for the Cinnabar Island fossil laboratory."

"Sounds like a snore," Warner thought.

"I enjoy a little ancient history myself," Aadon insisted, although he was more of a science man.

"You don't look like your average teen. How old are you?"

"14," Aadon replied.

"Well, I'm 16," Eric stated almost proudly.

"And I'm now a babysitter," Warner deemed in his mind. "What made me return the backpack to Aadon? I wanted to steal items, not kids."

* * *

><p><strong>[Outside of Mt. Moon-1:53 PM] <strong>

The heat had began to waver down as the Sun fell behind the rugged rocks covering the high plateaus of Mt. Moon. They had passed the Pokemon Center and left it at least a few miles behind. The trio were leaning on boulder formations that covered the flat and rocky ground below the plateaus. The entrance to Mt. Moon, about a few hundred meters in sight, was fenced off with warnings of unstable paths.

"Man, you sure know how to make a meal," Aadon complimented, to which Eric grinned.

"Sure I do, mate! My gramps was a cruise chef!" Eric stated. "It's too bad Paras isn't eating anything though."

Aadon scratched his chin with his left hand, rummaging through his backpack and looking for something with his other hand. He took out several different kinds of berries. "I found these at Viridian Forest. Maybe Paras will like them?"

Placing the berries next to Paras, he took a step backwards. The Bug type began eating the berries happily, looking up at Aadon and then looking back down and chewing merrily.

"Paras!"

"Well, you seem to know my Paras as well as I know your Beedrill!" Eric laughed.

"That seems to be the case," Aadon agreed. "Opposites don't always attract. That's only science!"

"So-which cruise did your grandpa work on?" Warner inquired while leaning back onto the hard and rocky floor, which didn't seem to bother him. "The food had a elegant zest to it that seems familiar."

"The S.S Anne, but nevermind that, mates! How about that battle?"

"Hm?" was all Aadon could say in response to the change of subject.

"Beedrill!" said the Bug type, having finished another bowl. Clefairy and Squirtle, who were sharing a bowl of Pokemon food, nodded frantically, hoping Beedrill wouldn't eat all of their food as well.

"You're Beedrill versus my Paras-or I have a better idea!" Eric quickly spat out. "Why don't you use Paras and why don't I use Beedrill?"

"Sounds like a good change, but our Pokemon have to agree to it," Aadon said, looking at Beedrill. Beedrill nodded, looking excited at the change of plans.

"And you Paras?" Eric asked. Paras nodded slowly, walking over to Aadon.

"This might be somewhat interesting," Warner yawned, watching the sky while laying on his boulder.

"You're not even watching," Aadon sighed. "Ready to go, Paras?"

"Paras," the Pokemon nodded at Aadon, who shook the sting-like pincers of Paras without touching the tips.

"After you," Eric told Aadon.

"Uh-what moves does Paras know," Aadon said to himself quietly.

"Ahem-URG-SCRATCH," Warner coughed out.

"That's a start," Aadon mumbled. "Scratch!"

Paras began charging towards Beedrill, stingers raised and glowing white from the energy of the attack.

"Retaliate with Poison Sting!" Eric ordered. Beedrill met the attack head on, the collision pushing both Pokemon slightly back. "Now Fury Attack!"

"Dodge!" Aadon ordered frantically as Paras began pacing backwards, feinting left to right. The spore Pokemon began to waver shakily.

"Move to the right and use Leech Life!" Aadon commanded without much thought, his memory of Paras' moves slowly returning. Paras jumped onto Beedrill, biting its head and sucking.

"Hit it with Fury Attack!" Eric shouted, but Beedrill could not raised its arms and hit Paras. "Shake it off by slamming into the ground!" Beedrill flew upwards and began gliding down with its back turned to the ground. The collision with the ground forced Paras off.

"Stun Spore, Paras!" Aadon said to Eric's Pokemon. Paras rolled back upwards as Beedrill came gliding down, releasing a yellow glitter into the air.

"Dodge to the right, Beedrill!" Eric commanded. Beedrill feinted successfully to the left, avoiding the glittery mist that eventually faded away. Making a circle in the air, Beedrill began gliding downwards at a rapid velocity.

"Move out of the way, Paras!" Aadon shouted. Paras made a hasty attempt to move to the right, falling over on its right flank and falling into a small pothole.

"We have you now!" Eric shouted. "Move in faster Beedrill!" Beedrill made a turn in the air and began flying down faster from its position.

Almost as if time had slowed down, Aadon rapidly began circling through his thoughts, wandering what he could do. "There's gotta be something-I wonder-no! What do I do!" By this time, Aadon was in panic mode and speechless.

Warner himself had began to watch the battle, leaning up from his rock with his arms behind his head in a lax but slightly tense position.

Moving his eyes slowly from left to right, Aadon's scanning eyes made contact with a slightly shaken Paras. As if by intuition, the Pokemon suddenly came to its senses and moved to the right as Aadon shouted the order. "Move!"

Within a split second, Paras had just barely rolled out of the radius of Beedrill's Fury Attack, making the Bug type Pokemon slam into the ground. As the dust cleared, Beedrill laid on the floor, defeated.

Even the clouds had seemed to come to a stop as everybody stood still for a split second. Even Warner had unknowingly gotten out of his seat.

Beedrill shook it's pincers slightly, going for a rising motion. Ultimately, the Poison Bug fell back down, now defeated for sure.

"Paras!"

"Oh, gosh darn it!" Eric yelled.

"Yes!" Aadon jumped. He hadn't been this happy in so long. He had won a short but difficult battle using his wit and using a Pokemon he had never used. Aadon walked over to Paras, giving credit where it was due. "If it wasn't for you, Paras, I couldn't have won this."

"You did good, Beedrill!" Eric complimented. "If only you were my own Pokemon!"

"Guys," Warner said as he walked over to the two trainers, who had gathered next to each other with their respective Pokemon. "This is leading somewhere. I think city boy here has taken a liking to Paras while you have taken a liking to Eric. There's only one thing you two can do now."

"What's that?" Aadon asked while holding Paras.

"Trade," Warner answered, making Aadon stiff.

"That sounds like a mighty fine idea!" Eric added, getting a excited response from Beedrill.

As Aadon looked down to Paras, he got a soft nod from the shy and introvert Pokemon. "I don't know, guys. I need some time to think this through."

"Well, we are traveling through Mt. Moon together, aren't we?" Eric suggested openly, to which Aadon nodded slowly. "So take some time. I still think-"

"TRESPASSERS!"

The trio turned around to find Police officers moving towards them.

"No, you guys, we're just waiting for-AGH!" One of the five officers tackled Eric down, followed by Aadon, and then Warner fell.

"What are you guys doing? We're not on federal property!"

"You are now," the officer stated. "This whole area is off limits."

"That's not what the sign said," Warner stated roughly.

"Don't argue with the police!" one of the officers said. Aadon noticed a very similar and suspicious look on the officer's face, although the force had gotten corrupt over the last few years. The expression was similar to something he had seen before. The face looked drained of colorful emotion, pale, and dangerously smug.

"You're coming with us," another officer stated.

"And where's this place we're going to in the middle of nowhere? The Pokemon Center?"

"Right behind you," the officer said, pointing to the off-limits Mt. Moon caverns at least a quarter mile behind them.

* * *

><p><strong>Update [82/2014]: New readers, ignore this update. Old readers, know that for the chapters this update note is in, certain things have been fixed, and conversations have been changed. Thanks for reading!**


	10. Thieves Under the Full Moon

**[Mt. Moon Caverns-Unknown Time]**

Aadon opened his eyes, his back in pain from sleeping on the ground the whole night. Though his back had gotten used to dirt, gravel, paths, and grasses, never had he laid his back on hard stone for an entire night.

"What a rough night," Aadon thought as he stood up and found that he could not open his eyes even when his lids pried open through the crust buildup in his sockets. Quite contrary to his typical behavior, he did not panic, cry, or wet himself. Instead, he scoped his surroundings and realized on a moment of ingenuity that his vision was perfectly fine.

He was standing in pitch-black darkness, except for a light several meters ahead of him. His feet lagged across the hard rock, approaching the light with both feelings of agitation and curiosity. The next thing he heard quelled his fears. Snoring.

"Maybe the guards are asleep," Aadon, his feet jumping lightly foward, only to be rooted to the ground by his quick thinking. "But what if there's more guards down there. I better watch my step or I could be done for!"

Then, for a moment, his moment of fallacy released him and he rushed forward, only to find exactly what he had imagined with a hint of surprise. There it was, the corner of the caverns, with two members of Cloak fast asleep and a Paras situated nervously above them, eating a berry.

"Paras! Paras!" Paras said, jumping into Aadon's arms.

"Am I glad to see you too," Aadon smiled. "How'd you escape their hands, little guy?"

"Par?" Paras questioned, just as bewildered as Aadon. Aadon examined the guards, who were fast asleep despite the loud greetings from Paras.

"We might wanna keep it down," Aadon whispered to Paras. "Judging by the looks on their faces, I'd have to say you used Sleep Powder."

The Grass type nodded in silent agreement.

"We could easily get lost in here, little buddy," Aadon gulped as he scanned his surroundings. The hallway to the left of him was the only way to go, but it seemed to stretch on for at least a mile. "They could probably get lost too. You think maybe one of them has a map on them?"

"Paras!" Paras scrambled on to one of the guards, making Aadon turn pale for a moment before he quickly comprehended the dynamic deep-sleep effects of Sleep Powder.

Searching the Cloak members, he found a map placed carefully inside the hood of one of the members.

"And I thought Cloaks meant you were intimidating," Aadon shuddered as he looked down at the pale faces of the Cloak members. "We should get moving ASAP, Paras!"

Paras nodded in complete agreement, "Par Paras!"

* * *

><p><strong>[Meanwhile, Somewhere Else In Mt. Moon Caverns-Present Time]<strong>

"Whoa, mind blown, mate," said Eric as he awakened from a state of heavy sleep. "Can somebody give me the time?"

"You know what time it is?" the voice of Warner called out slowly from behind Eric's roped arms. "Time to bag our way out of here."

"I don't think so, scum," hissed a guard from the dimly lit hallway connected to the circularly-carved room in which Warner and Eric laid. Beside him stood another guard of similar stature, both concealed by the shadow of the brown hoods attached to their robes.

"What are you guys supposed to be anyways? Traveling monks looking for trouble?" Eric spat, the remark earning him a hard sting to the face, leaving his left ear ringing from the vibrations.

"You actually beat me to that one," Warner chuckled. "Making sport of wimps like these guys is my game."

"Shut up!" One of the guards shouted, running up and punching Warner square in the face, sending his head colliding into Eric's in the process.

"Arceus, mate! To each his own!" Eric yelled, his arms almost begging to rub his paining head.

"Don't waste your energy," the other guard remarked. "They're not going anywhere."

"I'll be sure to return the favor," Warner commented as he gleamed through the guard who had dared to deal a fist.

"How do we get out?" Eric whispered, audible to only his companion.

"Same way we got in," Warner whispered back. "I've juggled with knots for a living, kid. You think this is the first escape I've made?"

* * *

><p><strong>[Mt Moon Caverns-Aadon and Paras-Present Time]<br>**

Several minutes passed by as Aadon and Paras navigated through the dark hallway which seemed to stretch on for miles. Being an inaccurate understatement, they reached a circular hallway, connected to several tunnels. Several Cloak members (recognized by their hoods) where patrolling the area. Sneaking closer to the perimeter, Aadon found exactly what he needed.

Slowly, he took several paces backwards, his left foot crackling loudly on a rock, alarming one of the guards. Not anxious to see if he had been discovered, Aadon retreated quietly to a pitch dark area, one of several formed as a result of widely placed resource lights.

"Did you hear something?" a gruff voice echoed. "It sounded like someone stepping on a stone!"

"Don't let that through you off. You're new here, so you're probably not used to the sounds in this underground facility," another voice answered.

"If you don't mind me asking, sir, what is the significance of our placement here?"

"Reformation, boy. We've waited years to get our plans into motion. This here facility is contains lunar energy, a strong and rarely found source that comes down from the moon when Clefairy come to our planet. It's 256 times faster and efficient than several other fuels, and not too much more expensive."

"Besides the price, why did the government stop using it?"

"The government is corrupt, cheap, and will do anything to get money back, even at the cost of polluting our Pokemon world."

"Pollution?" Aadon commented, his voice raspy from lack of use for at least 15 minutes.

"Par Paras?" Paras whispered in a questioning manner.

"This lunar energy is the inner vitality that every member of the Clefairy evolutionary line possesses from the day of birth, including the little Cleffa. We also got another one pretty recently when we captured trespassers a few hours back. "

"They couldn't-not with-"

"The little Clefairy we caught with them possesses lunar energy off the charts. I don't even think the little critter knows its own potential. I've never seen anything like it."

"What happens to the Clefairy when they're done though?"

"Turn to dust, die. Without their vitality, they're screwed." the voice of the seemingly-veteran Cloak member responded.

"But-"

"Look, son. It's for a good cause. You have to believe in this reformation."

"I-Okay."

Missing the last few details out of blind rage, Aadon wanted to jump in and make every one of them black out. Bringing in innocent Pokemon to slave drive energy was one thing, but when he heard that his Clefairy was now a part of their plans, fear and anger nearly blinded his thoughts.

"I-I can't do any good like this. I need to calm down," Aadon thought.

"When's the first generation cycle?" the gruff voice asked once more.

"30 minutes, I believe."

"These people are twisted," Aadon hissed. "Okay, looks like the Pokeball storage room is my best bet to find our Pokemon, Paras," Aadon deduced, concealing his noise and mouth by using his strap-on bucket hat as a mask. "Sleep Powder into that room."

Paras nodded, turning its back to Aadon and towards the hallway and crawling a few silent steps forward into firing range. As the purple mists of Sleep Powder flew through the air and circumvented into the hallway, Aadon could hear drowsy talk followed by yawns. Finally, he heard the last thud. Scouting ahead of Paras, he saw that the Cloak patrol, 4 in total, had fallen asleep!

"I knew the lack of proper ventilation in these caverns would actually play to our advantage," Aadon told Paras. "Let's get moving towards the Pokeball room!"

* * *

><p><strong>[Mt Moon Caverns-Warner and Eric-Present Time]<strong>

"You think you got the rope free?" Eric uttered softly to Warner.

"I don't think," Warner quickly replied, leaving his response ambiguously in the air for poor Eric, who wanted to scratch his head in confusion.

"Well, okay. I can see how breaking out of ropes becomes a pretty self-explanatory thing for you thief-type characters."

"I prefer to be called," Warner grunted as the rope behind him fell loose, "rogue. Thief implies that I have to work hard to secure my goods."

"Whatever, mate, can we go now?"

"Not yet. I'll nudge when the time is right. If we go bursting out now, they'll send guards down the long hallways within seconds."

"How can you even judge if the halls are long? We woke up here, champ," Eric asserted.

"Came around these parts about a decade back when I was a trainer-and a big wimp," Warner smirked. "You have to pass through it to get the Cerulean City."

"You're a pretty clever guy, Warner. You could probably knock the guy out in a fist fight before he whines," Eric grinned.

"I could-but it's not the Warner Easton style of action. Stealing victory directly is too easy."

* * *

><p><strong>[Mt Moon Caverns-Aadon and Paras-Present Time]<strong>

"There's the Pokemon storage room," Aadon confirmed, glancing at his map. Just like the other rooms in the moist and dark caverns, it had all the essentials: resource lights, items of importance, a circular shape, and a few guards, 3 to be exact. "We've been a little lucky up to this point. We're going to need a distraction or something. If only there was some way to get to Warner and Eric."

To the center, Aadon could see what looked like metallic containers. Doubt filled Aadon's mind. "What if this was all a trap? What if they had put my alone on purpose?" he thought. "No. I'm thinking at this too hard. I have to have confidence in my thinking. What would dad do?"

Having no clue as to the whereabouts of his companions, he made several deductions using his map. Of the twelve rooms listed on the map, he could only guess that they weren't in the main hallway. If they weren't in the Pokemon storage room, that's two places left!

Quickening his silent but swift advances towards the circular endpoint, his mind had been steadied.

Despite having been through many experiences within the parameters of a few weeks, not even poor Aadon could have suspected what waited for him at the end of the tunnel.

* * *

><p><strong>[Mt Moon Caverns-Storage Vault-Few Minutes Earlier]<strong>

The guard watched the dark embodiment of the hallway, a strange feeling of claustrophobia plaguing his mind. Not having been given the time to make even the slightest adaption to his environment, the guard was on edge. The caverns were cold, and he was almost certain that the caverns themselves shivered from the clotting of cold winds down the tunnels.

The guard yawned. He would take a few moments to recuperate his strength and then budge his fellow guards off of their lazy bums and get them to help him stay awake, for even the coldest of caverns bloomed at the insistence of companionship. Even as he felt the need to nudge his fellow guardsman open, he felt sleep stiffen his movements, the world around him going black.

Recalling his experience later, he would go on to claim that the last thing he had seen was a purple mist enshrouded by an orb, and the last thing he had heard was the patter of footsteps.

* * *

><p><strong>[Mt Moon Caverns-Warner and Eric-Present Time]<strong>

"What the hell was that?" the two Cloak cultists in front of Warner exclaimed in chorus.

They say the walls of the caverns carry the voices of the past and the present and hence they must carry they voices of the future as well. What Eric and Warner heard did not sound like a shriek from the past or a scream from the impending future, but a loud and petrified yell echoing in the present. Warner beamed immediately. "I'd recognize that voice anywhere. Now."

"What do you mean-" Eric felt a sharp nudge to his spine, signaling the end of his question.

"Now," Warner repeated, reaching for the already-broken ropes binding the two together. The perfect opportunity to escape had reared it's ugly head out of a Chansey wail from the depths of the caverns.

"We need to take a look," one of the cultists exclaimed, to which the second cultist nodded. "We don't wanna tarnish our records." the two turned around to take one last look at their prisoners. Unfortunately, they had no such pleasure.

The world around the cultists abruptly went dark.

* * *

><p><strong>[Mt Moon Caverns-Aadon and Paras-5 Minutes Later]<br>**

"I'd be mad that you almost alerted the guards, but that's my fault," Aadon said as lunged forward to give his Ghost type a hug. "Where have you been, Gastly?"

"Gastly," the orb-shaped Pokemon said enthusiastically.

"Better question is: how did you manage to get by the defense of the cultists? It's not an easy job. Me and Paras can testify to-Paras?"

Gastly nudged upwards, smirking slightly.

"I think you scared the living daylights out of him, Gastly," Aadon chuckled. "Wait till you-darn-we gotta go, but not before getting-"

Aadon paused when he saw that Gastly had scarcely been paying attention to Aadon's words and examining the containers. The Ghost type scuttled backwards, almost as if a magnetic pull was coming from the particular container Gastly stood adjacent to.

"That one?" Aadon questioned, to which his Pokemon nodded swiftly. Aadon detatched the hold on the metallic container next to Gastly, from which several Pokeballs fell out. Having possession of only two Pokeballs (one of them belonging to his Clefairy, currently in the hands of the generator engineers), Aadon took each one by one and frantically handed them to Gastly, now in a state of panic. He had almost forgotten his Clefairy. His companion.

"Gas Gas!" Gastly exclaimed as Aadon took the final Pokeball in his hand. It is imperative to keep in mind the aura abilities of Gastly when analyzing the situation that Aadon and Gastly were in. Gastly have the keen ability to sense the aura of their closest companions, and some of the essence from Aadon had rubbed off on Squirtle's Pokeball.

"I trust you on this one, Gastly," Aadon said almost calmly before erupting once more, " but we have to go now! Clefairy will be drained any moment now! Nothing else matters right now!"

"Stop!" a gruff voice spat from behind, "and drop the Pokeballs. You're under arrest."

Aadon froze. Three options lay before him: fight and be captured, give up and be captured, or fight his way to Clefairy against all odds. After all, why would he even consider the first two options when one of his companions stood at clear risk?

He turned, ready to command Gastly, but found that in the face of danger, he had hardly recognized the voice of his 'guru'.

"You have a lot to learn, kid," Warner scoffed, "but there's no time for that now."

"We know where the generator room is, and the exit," Eric stated. "Oh, and Paras' Pokeball should-"

"Generator first!" Aadon shouted without second thoughts.

"Both in the same room, kid," Warner smirked, but Aadon already led the way.

* * *

><p><strong>[Mt Moon Caverns Generator Room-15 Minutes Later] <strong>

The exit to the caverns did not find exemption from the stalactites on the ceiling, but the height of the walls expanded to a new and unstable level. The generator did not abide to the laws of nature, instead standing triumphantly as high as a two story building (against a three story ceiling of stalactites) and drained the already grim environment of any nature left. The dirt-covered floor contained several blemishes in the form of large boulders.

They say the health of the Clefairy reflect the well being of the caverns.

Needless to say, the situation did not look well. Inside the glass incubator of the generator were several trapped Clefairy, including Aadon's. Nestled around the generator were several cultist engineers and cultist guards, inching back and forth restlessly.

"When is this operation going to start?" someone would ask.

"Soon," an engineer would respond.

"Not soon enough," a guard would scoff.

Among the unrest, the guards could not do their job properly, the scientists fumbled back and forth with calculations, and the Clefairy went unheard. This proved to be extremely good fortune for three cultists in particular, who occasionally turned their backs to avoid the detection of their faces.

"Alright," the voice of Warner whispered to a smaller cultist to his right. "See the lever? We've got your back. Our only option is to pick a moment when everyone has their attention turned and pull the lever."

"Hush, mates," the voice of Eric whispered sharply. "We've discussed this several times. Don't blow our cover."

"Gas Gas.." Gastly hissed quietly behind Aadon. Luckily, the Ghost type held the key to mastering invisibility.

"Don't worry," Aadon said rather calmly. The plan played out in several different ways in his head as relative time slowed down, almost like several alternate endings to a film.

"Alright, we'll set up the distraction and you end this operation. Time to end the so-called revolution," Eric whispered to a cultist at his left.

"Is that so?" a voice from Eric's left whispered. Something was off about this.

Warner and Aadon were to his right, and this voice hardly sounded like Warner or Aadon.

"GUARDS, IMPOSTERS!" the mysterious Cloak members exclaimed as one of his fellow patrols to his left helped disrobe the trio's disguise, leaving them in their regular clothing.

"Got him, sir!" the fellow patrol shouted before moving to grab Warner and Eric.

"Idiot!" Warner yelled.

"Sorry!" Eric whimpered.

Before Aadon could say a word, his feet took several strides forward, taking only one look back, then pushing forward with all his might. Everything had slowed down, yet it seemed to be happening so fast at the same time. Feinting to the left and right, Aadon avoided the hands that reached all over him. Breaking free of the barrier, he rushed towards the final foot of the lever.

The guards gained on the 14-year-old boy. Aadon thought hastily.

He wouldn't make it.

He would make it.

He had to make it.

Putting all of his energy into one move, he took a long jump.

He would make.

He had to.

Everything went still.

Time slowed.

The balance between victory and failure rested in his final jump.

And finally, the moment of truth.

* * *

><p><strong>Update[82/2014]: Along with other noted chapters, some minor details have been fixed here and there. Future updates will also happen as I go back and remaster this story. New readers can keep ignoring!**


	11. Forty-Three

**[Mt Moon Caverns-Present Time]**

Laughs. Sighs of relief. Scowls everywhere.

These did not come from Warner, Aadon, or Eric.

Gastly did not snicker.

The enemy seized the moment.

"He missed!" one of the grunts exclaimed grabbing the 14 year old boy struggled.

"Clefairy!" Aadon cried, on the verge of tears.

"Fairy-" a muffled voice cried out from within the tube containing many of the species. Aadon recognized the voice right away and broke free to try again, but was subdued once more by the grunts and engineers as the machine fired up once more.

"No!" Eric yelled. "Do something-Warner" Eric turned to his unlikely companion, who watched silently, as if coldly calculating his next strategy while in the hands of the two Cloak grunts who had revealed their position due to Eric's daft actions.

"Stay put," one of the grunts in the back whispered in a reassuring voice, soothing Eric.

"But I can't-" Eric shakily exclaimed.

"Relax," the grunt replied quickly.

"You missed kid!" one of the Cloak engineers jeered.

"The moon dust is ours!" another scoffed, spitting on the ground next to Aadon, who watched helplessly.

"Shadow Ball!" a voice in a commanding tone hollered from behind as a wave of dark energy raced past the unsuspecting grunts, colliding with the tube, and leaving behind a crack.

"Twineedle!" Eric's voice yelled from the back as the grunts turned in panic. The attack left its mark, enlarging the crack on the device.

"Stop that!" the grunts yelled.

"Flamethrower!" another familiar voice commanded, as the flames weakened the thick glass, breaking it apart and release a pink mist into the air, driving the members of Cloak away. Aadon watched on, but stepped into the mist to catch his Clefairy, coughing and weezing.

"Whirlwind, Pidgeotto," the first voice beckoned again, this time louder, followed by a screech as a bird passed over the air and flapped its wings, creating a sharp gust driving the pink mist backwards.

The patrols and engineers shifted their bravely-masked attitudes and ran screaming sharply towards a tunnel to the right of the gaping hole behind the generator, carrying no reprecutions for their reputations. Some made their way towards Cerulean, almost screaming "I quit" simultaneously in their minds.

"Return, Pidgeotto. You too, Espeon," the voice ordered as the sounds of a Pokeball returning a Pokemon came out from behind Aadon.

"Pidgeo!"

"Espy!"

Aadon turned around, still shaken by the situation. "Who-are you guys?"

"AHAHA!" the one on the left laughed as he hacked a cough. "For the most part, the Whirlwind should direct that mist out of the large hole behind the generator. Not the world's best engineers!"

Aadon watched, puzzled, but turned back to his Clefairy.

"Fairy.." Clefairy softly whispered to Aadon, trying to force a smile.

"You're going to be okay, I promise," Aadon sobbed quietly. Since the start of his journey, Aadon had thought of keeping to himself. He didn't want to see his friends get hurt, whether it was Warner or Eric, and even Clefairy, who had almost become a younger sibling to him. Thoughts circled Aadon's head. Was it realistic to think that his father hadn't already been hurt by Cloak? And his mother?

"It's us, kid," the two members of Cloak exclaimed excitedly as they took off their robes, revealing officers Kent and Byrd, but Aadon paid no heed, and Kent could understand. Despite looking for a reputation, Kent didn't want to seek one during the wrong moments, so he approached Aadon and put his hands on the boy's shoulders, kneeling next to him.

"Clefairy will be okay, but the process of gathering moon dust, as well as being exposed to so many chemicals at a young age will-"

"Will what?" Aadon hissed, his tone now one of anger. Kent let go of Aadon's shoulders, feeling the vibration of negative energy coming from the 14-year-old.

"Look. Nothing in that tank is lethal enough to kill-I mean damage your Clefairy permanently," Kent reassured, not finding a better choice of words dealing with death, "but your Clefairy is going to be down and out for at least a week, experiencing fever-like symptoms, and if we don't get it to a-"

"Eric, get Clefairy to Cerulean City," Aadon interrupted, standing up and handing his weakened Pokemon to Eric, "and make it fast. Please."

"Go with em, Byrd," Kent ordered. "I saw some grunts go towards Cerulean."

Byrd nodded, following Eric out the door, his Growlithe following his lead.

"Where are you planning on heading, kid?" Warner pushed into the conversation. "Certainly not in the direction of the tunnel, are you?"

"Step out of the way," Aadon glared at the rest, his body language numb, his fists clenched. But Warner would not concede defeat.

"Aadon, quit whining and think clearly! Do you remember when we were ambushed by the grunts at Cerulean?" Warner shouted. Aadon turned his head away from the direction of the tunnel.

"They had masks," Warner explained. "Why wouldn't they have used the masks right now? Something smells like Magikarp, and its coming from that tunnel your facing."

Had Aadon not been clouded by his rage, he would have realized that Warner had called him "Aadon" for what he thought was the first time. The thought slid through the crevices of his mind, and Aadon carried forward, sprinting like a mad man into the tunnel.

"FOOL!" Warner spat. "It's your deathwish!"

"Aren't you going to follow him?" Kent questioned in a rhetorical manner.

"What's he doing is digging his own grave, let him suffer," Warner grunted as he turned his back, inching his head towards the direction of the tunnel as if conflicted by his actions.

As Warner turned his body towards the tunnel, an explosion rang the upper stalactites, leaving a trail of smoke in the air.

"Clear the air, Pidgeotto!" Kent commanded, releasing his Flying type Pokemon into the air. Pidgeotto swooped across the air, sweeping the smoke out of the hole into the foggy mirror of a clear day outside. How long had they been succumbed to imprisonment in the caverns?

As the dense smoke cleared, the feelings tensed as Kent and Warner looked ahead at the rocks blocking the tunnel and a the silhouette of three familiar figures standing, arms crossed and not poised to move an inch.

"Look who it is," Kent muttered in disbelief. "Return, Pidgeotto." In a beam of red, Pidgeotto was engulfed into its Pokeball.

"Miss me, old friend?" the voice mocked as the murk swept away, almost at once. There stood Nero with two drifters unfamiliar to Kent. Warner knew all three. "To think you've reinvigorated your search for me after all those years."

"I'll bring you down one of these days," Kent yelled to Nero.

"No rush," Nero chuckled.

"Ice and Blaze," Warner grinned, mirroring Kent's mocking tone, which only served to anger the duo.

"Are you gonna hit and run like a coward this time, Warner?" Ice sneered.

"Why are do you even use those names?" Warner asked, letting out a soft chuckle and reaching for his belt.

"Ours are more cinematic than yours is," Blaze spat.

"Can you not think about cinema for one day," Ice groaned.

"Silence," Nero ordered. "Follow my instructions clearly, or the pay doesn't make it."

"Yes, sir," Ice and Blaze replied.

"What happened to not confirming to society?" Warner laughed, his intention to cloud the judgement of his foes.

"Are you scared, Nero?" Kent scoffed, joining into the game of taunts. "Going to have your cronies attack me?"

"Ice, Blaze, whatever," Nero muttered as he smile turned into a scowl. "You can have the drifter. The officer is mine."

"Atta boy," Kent laughed. "Umbreon, take the field!"

"Scyther!" Nero sent out his Bug-Flying dual type into the room. The Pokemon immediately took on the demeanor and emotions of its trainer, staring at Kent's Umbreon with intense aggression with little regret.

"Golbat, take the field," Warner commanded, chucking his Pokeball into the air. In a flash of light, the Poison type floated in the air, awaiting orders.

"Magmar!" Blaze ordered his Fire type onto the ground.

"Dewgong, show them your powers," Ice dictated. In another flash of light, there stood a larger version of Seel, with a shinier coat and a larger body frame.

"Two vs two?" Warner shook his head. "What do you say we put out an old friend, Golbat? Give him a fresh breath of air?"

"Gol Gol!" Golbat screeched, bringing back memories of contempt in both Magmar and Dewgong. How could they forget the sheer pain of Golbat's Supersonic from the encounter at the forest those many days back?

"MAG!" Magmar hollered.

"DewGONG!" Dewgong followed.

"Gyarados, show these kids how to roar like you mean it," Warner scoffed, throwing his Pokeball to the ground. As another aura of white light filled the air momentarily, so did a roar menacing enough to shake even Nero off his feet.

"GRAAAAAAAR!" is all anybody, even Warner, could recall from the situation. There stood a Pokemon, covered in blue scales surrounding a yellow body. It carried sharp fangs, its red eyes staring beyond its enemies.

"It takes a lot of training to get Gyarados to use their flying type abilities to float in the air," Kent thought. "This ought to be good."

"Well, mighty strong," Nero admitted. "But anyway, let's get this little matchup started, shall we? I have an officer and drifter to stall."

"Stall?" Kent shot.

"Well, even if you knew, you wouldn't get past me in time to save the boy."

"Save the boy?" Warner raised an eyebrow. "What the heck are you talking about?!"

"Oh, you see, the moon dust was merely a set up to get the boy to meet _her_," Nero smirked. "A little moon dust is good for generating power, but its not what_ she _has in mind. She wants _him._"

"Not if I can help it!" Warner yelled. "Dragon Rage!"

"No, wait!" Kent put his arm out, but too late.

"Scyther, Double Team around Magmar and Dewgong," Nero ordered calmly.

"Dewgong, Ice Beam!" Ice commanded sharply. Dewgong released a wave of blue ice, freezing parts of the Dragon Rage in midair.

"Flamethrower," Blaze ordered. Magmar growled, ferociously expelling a wave of fire from its mouth, which hit a collision course with Dragon Rage, both attacks standing unrivaled. Gyrados pushed back, slightly confused by Scyther's maneuver.

"Agility, Umbreon!" Kent yelled. Umbreon bounced fowards, dodging several boulders along the field. "Shadow Ball all of the Scyther illusions." Taking stops, the Dark type fired several purple-black projectiles at the illusions circling around Magmar and Dewgong, trying to pick the real one.

"Scyther, Quick Attack," Nero commanded. Dashing from the air above stealthily, Scyther slashed Umbreon in the leg, subduing the Pokemon, but not putting it down and out.

"Hydro Pump on Scyther," Warner quickly commanded. Just as swiftly, Gyarados fired a beam of fast water into the air, knocking Scyther back slightly.

"Ice Beam!"

"Flamethrower!"

"Set up a Light Screen, quick!" Kent ordered his Umbreon. Umbreon nodded, jumping in front of Gyarados and setting up a large barrier of energy capable of weakening special attacks.

"This is shaping up to be fun," Nero smirked. "But I've always been number one, and you-number two, Kenny."

"Excellent tactic by Warner," Kent thought, trying to shield out Nero's negative commentary and keeping a clear head.

"And now, we will end this fight," Nero frowned, his smirk melting into a stern look.

* * *

><p><strong>[Mt Moon Caverns-Present Time]<br>**

Aadon pressed forwards, unconcerned with the explosion followed by crumbling rocks receding into a stand still behind him. He couldn't think clearly enough to notice the patterns that Warner had put out for him, nor put the warning together with the explosion that followed immediately after. Why did the tunnel cave in _after _he had made his way inside? Was someone pulling the strings? These things Aadon paid no heed to, clouded by the seething rage that boiled in his head, and ironically left a ball of ice in his stomach. Would Clefairy be okay?

Each question ricocheted in his head, almost leaving his brain bruised with the illusion of a collision. Aadon sprinted and sprinted, his adrenaline pushing him further. The tunnel must have stretched on for a mile, before he came out to another light, this one leading to a room covered with paved dirt. Several control panels were positioned to the left and right of the entrance, with crates packed around the room.

Aadon could hardly hear himself think behind the roar of the waterfall that left a cool vapor in the air as it cheated gravity and took several seconds in the air before falling down in huge increments.

Just at the end of the ravine was an executive chair. From the dim resource lights, Aadon could not tell whether it was empty or not.

"Subject number forty-three, welcome," a robotic voice said in monotone, giving Aadon chills.

"Subject forty-three?" Aadon thought. "Who?"

Aadon slowly analyzed the situation in a more rationalized manner, considering the computer voiced "subject forty-three" immediately after he walked in. But it could have been saying that long before he had come in. One thing was certain: somebody had left only moments ago, or was still in the room.

"Off, I should probably turn that off," a cold female voice hissed from the direction of the ravine in front of Aadon.

"Who's there?!" Aadon yelled frantically, trying to gather his courage and reaching for his belt. He still had Paras and Squirtle.

The figure stood up, the dim resource lights making it hard for Aadon to see his perpetrator. Aadon saw a black uniform and a dark brown cloak with hood up, but the face. Even as the lights brightened, the face remained dark and hollow, save for two green eyes, similar to what Aadon had seen on other Cloak members.

"Welcome, forty-three," the female hooded figure repeated in the same voice as she made her way to shut off the computer. The hooded villain hit several buttons, the computer replying with several noises of confirmation. "Seems complicated, but then, we both have a technical things, as expected."

"Who are you? And my name is Aadon!" Aadon responded quickly, wishing his pride hadn't obligated him to proudly announce his identity to the world.

"Your name doesn't not concern me, forty-three," the women responded calmly. "You've fallen right into my trap, just as I expected you to."

"E-expected?" Aadon shuddered. Was the entire scheme on Mt. Moon a ploy just to trap him?

"You're father is in good hands right now, but we have-special plans for him-"

"Where IS HE?" Aadon yelled, gritting his teeth.

"Beat me and maybe I'll tell you," the female sneered.

"Who ARE you?" Aadon questioned sharply, gulping and trying to gather his thoughts.

"You shall refer to me as Octavia," the female commanded. "I promise you _that _isn't a fib, but Dr. Ronkowski-"

Aadon could take it no longer.

"PARAS!" Aadon yelled, throwing his Pokeball close to the ground in front of him. The Pokemon came out, scrambling around lightly and trying to poise itself.

"Vileplume, you are required," Octavia said firmly. In a flash of light stood a Pokemon with magnificent petals on its head, contrasting that of its purple body and sharp red eyes.

"Plume," the Pokemon sneered at Paras, making Paras retreat.

"You can do it, Paras! You have to!" Aadon assured his Pokemon. "Scratch!"

Paras trudged forwards quickly but sloppily.

"Move out of the way and use Energy Ball," Octavia ordered. Vileplume moved gracefully out of the way, following up with a ball of green-aura energy.

"Jump, Paras!" Aadon yelled. Paras retreated backwards, barely avoiding the ball.

"Up and Body Slam," Octavia quickly commanded. Vileplume bounced, hovering momentarily over Paras before slamming into the Pokemon, leaving the Pokemon injured gravely and weakened drastically.

"Pa-Pa," Paras quietly whispered.

"NO! USE STUN SPORE!" Aadon screamed in rage. Something had overtaken him and he couldn't control his rage. It made his blood boil just thinking back to his father. He had to win, no matter what the cost. "GET IT!"

"Paras!" Paras shot up, releasing a yellowish spore into the air.

"Repeat Body Slam to your pleasure," Octavia smirked behind the darkness. Avoiding the yellow mist, Vileplume fell onto Paras with all its force, crushing every muscle in the Grass Bug type's body.

"GET UP!" Aadon yelled, unaware of Paras' pain.

"Pa-" before being able to set out one word, the Pokemon was beaten into unconsciousness by another attack.

"Darn! Return!" Aadon ordered, seeing no other option.

"SQUIRTLE!" Aadon shouted, releasing his youngest, most vulnerable Pokemon into battle. "Water Gun!"

"Squirtle!" Squirtle shouted, shooting a wave of water at Vileplume, who dodged the attack.

"Keep firing!" Aadon commanded. Squirtle fired relentlessly, wanting to gain Aadon's respect. Squirtle had always looked up to Aadon after being rescued from the treachery of Ice and Blaze, and wanted to reciprocate its thanks, no matter what the cost.

"SQUIRT SQUIRT!" Squirtle yelled, continuing its barrage, leaving Vileplume feinting left and right to avoid the attacks. Suddenly, Aadon saw an opening. Vileplume slipped slightly.

"Tackle!" Aadon ordered. Squirtle charged, dashing forwards, the Water type's heart ready to explode from exhaustion.

"SQUIRT squirt.." Squirtle huffed, making a earnest attempt at tackling the Grass type off its feet, but the effort to run towards Vileplume left Squirtle's young body drained. The body of a baby Pokemon.

* * *

><p><strong>[Mt. Moon Caverns-5 Minutes Earlier]<br>**

"Umbreon, Double Team!" Kent yelled. "Mix it with Agility!"

Umbreon sprinted forwards towards Dewgong and Magmar before splitting up into multiple illusions.

"Which one is which?" Ice yelled.

"Slash them all out, Agility speed!" Nero yelled, on his feet from the back and forth battle. Scyther dashed left and right, slashing out the copies one by one until confronted with the one direction in front of the Flying-Bug type.

"Quick Attack!" Umbreon pushed forwards, hitting Scyther, but leaving the Dark type open to attack.

"Not again," Blaze grunted.

"Ice Beam!" Ice commanded.

"Dragon Rage," Warner ordered his Gyarados. Blue flames rapidly shot out of Gyarados' mouth.

Both attacks collided, leaving Umbreon space to retreat.

"Overheat!" Blaze yelled. Magmar gathered its fists, exploding a wave of fire in several directions towards Umbreon and Gyarados.

"Let's pull out the stops. Hyper Beam, Gyarados!" Gyarados pulled its head backwards as if tightening its muscles.

"Umbreon, Agility!" Umbreon pushed forwards, creating distraction among the enemy Pokemon.

"Dewgong, ICE BEAM!"

"MAGMAR, Flamethrower!"

Evading the attacks, Umbreon pushed forwards, the attacks inevitably breaking down boulder formations on the ground.

"Scyther, use Agility as well!" Nero's Scyther dashed into Umbreon, knocking the Dark type back. "Take that!"

"No, take this!" Warner laughed maniacally as an intense beam of light ravaged through Dewgong, Magmar, and Scyther.

"No!" Nero grunted.

"Darn!" Ice hissed.

"Wormadam!" Blaze muttered.

"You're going to pay for this one, Kent! And this time, it'll just be me and you, unless you're a Torchic!"

"Fine, but you're only asking for trouble," Kent grinned in victory, reaching for his belt.

Suddenly, an explosion rang behind Ice, Blaze, and Nero, followed by the noise of police sirens and Growlithe. They were getting close.

"Nero, come in," a static-filled message rang from a device on Nero's wrist, audible only to the villain. "The work is done. I repeat, the work is done."

"Copy that," Nero replied.

"Why are you talking into your wrist," Kent interrogated.

"The work is done. The boy will be ours. It's written in his fate."

"Shut up!" Warner yelled. "Gyarados, Dragon Rage on the tunnel!" Gyarados roared, firing its blue flames at the tunnel and breaking down the boulders caved around the entrance, leaving an opening. Warner sprinted rapidly.

"You lose, Kent," Nero smirked, taking capsules in his hand and chucking them downwards, creating a dense smoke.

"What's going on?!" a voice yelled from behind. Apparently, only Nero had escaped, leaving Ice and Blaze to be arrested.

"Come out with your hands up," an authoritative voice ordered on a bullhorn.

"Wormadam!" Blaze spat.

"Quit saying that," Ice groaned.

* * *

><p><strong>[Mt. Moon Caverns-Present Time]<br>**

"Squirtle, you're not trying hard enough!" Aadon yelled. "Water Gun!"

There stood Squirtle, a young and innocent Pokemon seeking to impress its trainer, and fighting on despite several bruises and wounds. Squirtle shot and shot to no avail, as Vileplume simply took steps left and right with relative ease.

"Just give it up," Octavia spat.

"NO!" Aadon cried, tears welling in his eyes.

"And man up, would you?" Octavia laughed.

"Kid!" Warner's voice called from behind. "It's a trap! End the fight!"

"GRAAAH!" yelled Gyarados as the walls behind Aadon came crashing down.

"NO!" Aadon firmly screamed, overcome with emotion "My dad!"

"You think this _person _would tell you of all people where he is?" Warner questioned.

"YES! Water Gun!"

"Wrong move, fool," Octavia replied. "Cut that Squirtle open."

Vileplume dashed forwards. Timed slowed as the back part of Aadon's mind regretted the decision he had made. He dashed forwards, lunging for Squirtle, but it was too late.

The damage had been done. In one swift move, Vileplume had made several cuts into the Squirtle. This time, there were no tears, neither Squirtle nor Aadon.

"My work here is done," Octavia stated. "Pokemon are nothing more than tools, and now you must learn to see them as toys for domination and nothing more."

"Y-you monster!" Aadon yelled, tears pouring down his cheeks.

"And you? Fighting your Pokemon continuously against your better judgement. What makes you any better than me?" Octavia questioned, taking strides back until she stood at the edge of the ravine.

Aadon stood in shocked, the blood of the unconscious Squirtle pouring down his arms. For the sake of one man, he had jeopardized the lives of not one, but three of his Pokemon. Paras didn't even belong to him. What would Eric say? He had no time to think. The coloration from Squirtle's bright blue cheeks had begun to drain as blood trickled.

"You're finished! Dragon Rage!" Warner ordered, trying to stop Octavia. Blue flames pushed forwards towards Octavia.

"The boy is ours," Octavia said one last time before plunging into the ravine.

"DARN!" Warner yelled. "We need to get that Squirtle to the hospital."

"What have I done?" Aadon sobbed. Warner reached for Aadon, snatching Squirtle.

"Quit wasting time!" Warner yelled, his voice shaky. Aadon stood up, running with Warner.

But the tears flowed freely, not of Squirtle, but of Aadon.

* * *

><p><strong>Update [82/2014]: Thank you all for the continuous reviews. Previous readers, I am fixing some glaring plotholes and you may see this message in other chapters. New readers, ignore this message. **


	12. Winds of Destiny

**[Cerulean City Pokemon Center-12:01 AM]**

Aadon rubbed his eyes. They were heavy and exhausted, but not from the events that had taken place in the Mt. Moon Caverns. Even as his tears fell into the puddle of blood left by Squirtle just half a day ago, he only did so for minutes before coming to his senses and helping Warner bring Squirtle out. So here he was, in the emergency room, shattered from the victimization of two of his Pokemon.

"It's all my fault," voices would repeat in his head.

"I have to save my dad," another voice would say in conflict.

"I can't lose the ones I care for," another voice pushed inside Aadon. After what he had done, could he consider his will to protect the ones he love as an asset or a bane on the existence of even allies that stood in his path?

The white paint that coated the room served as a contrast to the colors of red that carried around the room, both in the form of a cross and the vital signs of a Pokemon. Then there was the black night. When was the last time Aadon had ever slept in a bed?

Aadon knelt beside his Pokemon, numb from a mix of a multitude of fears for himself and for his Pokemon.

"This is the end of the line," Aadon thought, drooping his head next to Squirtles. "I don't deserve any of my Pokemon, even Clefairy."

"Fairy," Clefairy whispered on the bed next to Squirtle's. Gastly had taken to Clefairy's bedside. Clefairy had insisted that Aadon stay by Squirtle's beside, often beckoning a "how are you" or "don't worry" to Aadon, and the 14-year-old seemed to understand. Nobody understood Clefairy like he did, the bond they shared, not even Gastly. If Gastly was Aadon's best friend, Clefairy was like the younger brother he had never had.

Suddenly, the door creaked open, revealing a blend-in black leather jacket with a v-shaped muscle shirt underneath, green parachute pants, and a white headband coated in blood. He didn't seem to mind the blood of a Pokemon in his scruffy brown air.

"Warner," Aadon said. "I can't thank you enough-"

"The authorities lost this 'Octavia'," Warner quickly stated. "They searched the ravine left and right, and even coordinated a search with the gym leader of the town, Misty, but they came up with no leads."

"Warner-"

"No, shut up and listen, Aadon," Warner gruffly interrupted, his hand pressed against the wall of the white door. "Oak, Brock, your mother, they will all be here soon to take you back home, and you'll have to deal with the consequences."

"But we can't leave-"

"Shut up. The charade is over. You're not cut out for this world, Aadon," Warner spat, saying the thing Aadon least expected.

"Then I'll have to go by myself once Clefairy and-

"Shut up!" Warner yelled. The silence of only two people in the room gave way for Warner's baritone voice to echo across the walls. Warner grabbed Aadon's collar, looking him in the eye. "I know what you think I am. You think I'm a thief, a thug, and you have no idea why I stalk you around. Well the truth is that I had a life too-and I still do!"

Warner turned his back to Aadon, leaning against the wall. "Truth of it is-I think of you as a friend, believe it or not, but the fault is yours. I taught you to trust no one, to take what you need, and to be a flat out goon, but never did I once teach you to stop listening to your Pokemon."

Warner turned his eyes towards Aadon, wet and red, on the brink of a tear. "I don't know why I'm even doing this. You mean nothing to me. I could care less about your Pokemon."

Tears fell from Aadon's cheek. Was his unlikely companion going to leave him too? Aadon turned his back in shame.

"I'm going to be around until you're seen back home, but not for you. Stay away from me," Warner grunted, his voice back to his cold self. "I don't know if anyone beyond that flying ball of gas even has a care for you anymore. How can anyone else handle you if you can't even handle yourself.

For what seemed like an enternity, Aadon stood still, thinking over the last question. He had always relied on the help and care for others to push him forwards, but now each and every one of his friends were abandoning him. And Eric?

Eric hadn't spoken to him since the trek at Mt. Moon. He had been watching over Paras in the other room, as motionless as Aadon.

Then, he turned his head to concede defeat, but found that defeat had already evaded-for now. Warner was gone, but only for Aadon.

"Gas?" Gastly questioned.

"Fairy," Clefairy smiled weakily.

"I've failed you guys," Aadon thought while watching Clefairy and Gastly, then motioning his head back to Squirtle, bruised and cut. "Maybe Warner was right. I need to call- it quits."

Then from outside came the pattering of footsteps and closing of doors, not those of police vehicles or men, but those of somebody in a hurry. Sensing the presence of the steps, Gastly moved out of the room.

"Where is he?" Aadon heard a familiar voice outside, followed by the opening of a door. There stood Mrs. Ronkowski, Professor Samuel Oak, Professor Gary Oak, and Professor Birch.

"We came as soon as we heard," Oak said sternly. "You're on thin ice, young man."

"I-" was all Aadon could voice silently as a cold sting went across his face, followed by another-and another.

"Where have you been?" Mrs. Ronkowski cried. "I was worried that you had been killed-"

"Please restrain yourself, Alena," Birch grabbed Mrs. Ronkowski by the arm. "He did what he could."

"You're a sick and selfish kid," Mrs. Ronkowski yelled in her rage, struggling against Mrs. Ronkowski, "and we wouldn't want you home if it wasn't for Ted!"

Aadon watched silently, as he felt bits and pieces of his personality fall like shards of broken glass off of a fragile mirror. This couldn't be happening.

"The only wrong thing he's ever done is pick a kid like you," Mrs. Ronkowski hissed. "Of all of the kids at-"

"Alena, no!" Birch yelled.

"No, it's all his fault," Mrs. Ronkowski cried. Aadon stood with a blank stare, not even moving his hands to his cheeks. "He has to know the truth!"

"Don't do it," Gary said softly, reaching for the door.

"You ungrateful child," Mrs. Ronkowski sobbed. "You made my life harder-and you made Ted's life harder. Your parents should have never conceived you."

"-No," was all Aadon could mouth as Alena Ronkowski's rage faded away, and she realized the consequences of her actions.

Although the 14-year-old boy let the words sink in, he already knew what they meant. Weren't they his parents? Wasn't Theodore Ronkowski his father? Who was he?

And with those questions buzzing irregularly in his head, he fell to the ground, a shell of whatever he had ever been as a result of his loved ones.

Even they weren't his.

"Aadon, I-" Mrs. Ronkowski stuttered, before walking out the door to let her mix of emotions sink in.

Birch followed, giving her a shoulder to cry on.

"Aadon," Gary whispered, before Oak nudged him not to say a word.

Like air, Aadon flew away into the lounge, his tears done away with.

What did he have left to cry for?

* * *

><p><strong>[Outside the Cerulean City Pokémon Center-1:13 AM]<strong>

The wind whistled in no particular direction during the black night, sometimes sharp and sometimes soft, sometimes rustling and sometimes not. Outside, Professor Birch and Mrs. Ronkowski caught up on the golden days at Goldenrod University, when neither had the stresses of their lives to worry out. To Birch, she confessed everything.

"I've missed you," Alena whispered.

"You have?" Birch replied softly.

"I have," Alena cried. "I need your support."

"The days of our relationship are gone, Alena," Birch responded calmly. "But our friendship has remained unchanged over the course of these last years. You were my best friend then, and you're my best friend now."

"Why did I do it?" Alena asked Birch, to which Birch already knew the question.

"You're always so vague with everything," Birch chuckled. "You're lucky that as long as Ted isn't around, your best friend is."

"Why?" Alena questioned again. "All this pent up rage against hi-I let it out-why do I have it at all?"

"You weren't mad at him. You were angry at how Ted would react to seeing his pride and joy taken away from him."

"I just-I don't want to say this-"

"Say it."

"I-am a little jealous of Aadon-a lot," Alena admitted. "Aadon gives Ted the joy of a child-something I could never provide him. I always felt left out of their loop, but I realize it's all my fault. And with Ted gone, Aadon didn't feel like anything to me but a reminder of my pain."

"But you love him," Birch whispered.

"Aadon or Ted?" Alena said, her voice cracking.

"I know you love both," Birch smiled.

"BIRCH! Mrs. Ronkowski!" the voice of Gary cried from the distance, making both stand up immediately.

"What is it?" Birch asked.

"Aadon, he's g-g-one," Gary stammered, waking Birch and Alena up almost right away.

"And the Pokémon?" Birch inquired.

"The Clefairy and Paras are gone, but the Squirtle is still in bed sleeping," Gary informed.

"Any leads?" Birch asked quickly.

"None, but the sighting of a Gastly and footsteps in the same direction," Gary shrugged.

"Gastly!" Alena's heart jumped. "That's his Pokémon! Do you still have a lead on that Gastly?"

"Yes, we saw the Gastly circling the Pokémon Center before heading in the direction of Saffron City," Gary replied, now in panic. "We have to go now!"

"Right!" Alena agreed, and the trio left to pursue the Gastly sighted down the path to Saffron.

Little did they know that Warner had been laying on a tree not too far away from hearing distance.

"Saffron City," Warner thought. "He's blocked off, leaving him only two options."

* * *

><p><strong>[Route 5-28 Minutes Ago-12:45 AM]<strong>

_The current of the wind had ceased, leaving only the noise of footsteps crackling into the tall grass of Route 5. Not many houses were on Route 5, with the exception of the house with the sign reading 'Daycare' in bold letters. He had made it to the end of Route 5, the security perimeter into the city a dead end due to the ongoing investigation of the crimes at Mt. Moon._

_Aadon panted, with another set of footsteps mirroring his movements. _

_Both set of steps came to a stop in front of a building with a sign labeled "Underground Path". Then, an orb emitting a purple glow came in between the steps._

_"Gastly!" Gastly grinned. _

_"There you go, mate," a familiar friend said in a happy mood. "You're all good to go. Just be careful down there. I know you don't have much of a choice, but I heard a lot of goons hang down there-no you'll manage."_

_"I know Paras wants to go with me, Eric, but am I a fit trainer-"_

_"Yes you are," Eric smiled, putting his hand on Aadon's left shoulder. "I would have done the same after all you've been through. Now you better go-"_

_Aadon interrupted Eric with a warm embrace._

_"We've been through only little together," Aadon stated, "but you're a good friend. Thanks for understanding."_

_"I hope we cross paths again, buddy," Eric grinned, running towards Cerulean City. "I'LL TRACK EM OFF!"_

_"Eric-take care of Beedrill," Aadon whispered to himself before heading into the path. _

_"Take care of Paras," Eric thought as he sprinted in the direction of Cerulean as fast as he legs would permit to avoid thinking depressing thoughts. _

_"Gastly," Gastly frowned._

_"You have to," Aadon whispered softly. "You can lead them away from the underground path by wandering back and making them trail downwards to Saffron."_

_"Gas Gas?" Gastly cried, letting a hollow tear fall to the ground. Being a Ghost type, the tears made no impact._

_"The least that'll do is lead them towards an investigation of Cloak in Saffron, where dad-Dr. Ronkowski might be," Aadon muttered. "Now go."_

_"Gastly," Gastly sobbed, floating back towards Cerulean in Eric's direction._

_"I'll be back-when I'm a better me, Gastly," Aadon promised, but only in words audible to himself. He removed his tarnished sneakers,wiping off his trail in the direction of the underground path before putting them back on and heading into the path. Reaching up to scratch his head, he had realized one forgotten detail to his escape._

_His hat was gone. No. Dr. Ronkowski's hat was gone._

* * *

><p><strong>[Unknown Location-2:02 AM] <strong>

As usual, darkness enshrouded the location of Kanto Commissioner and Commander Octavia, giving her solitude, yet equally feeding her hatred. She sat in her chair, fingers pressed against her mask, calculating her next move, when the sound of uniform footsteps approached.

"Do you wish to bring me news of Dr. Ronkowski's scientific achievements for the glory of our revolution, or bask in the successful of our endeavors at Mt. Moon?" Octavia questioned.

"Both, Commander," Nero smirked.

"Only subject forty-three matters to me," Octavia hissed. "I could care less about Dr. Ronkowski."

"With all due respect, you're not the head of Cloak-yet," Nero muttered audibly to Octavia.

"But I am your commander," Octavia smirked. "And the doctor is of no use to my plans with the boy."

"He seems like an ordinary kid to me," Nero grunted.

"So the world will think for now," Octavia chuckled. "And let them rightfully so. Is he alone?"

"Our scouts reported watching him move towards Saffron," Nero laughed.

"The head will not know of this," Octavia turned her chair, shining green orbs staring through Nero, making him quiver slightly. "The boy is Cloak's future."

"As you wish, but the head shall know about our current progress with the doctor," Nero assured.

"Indeed he will," Octavia chuckled. "To revolution."

"To revolution," Nero responded.

* * *

><p><strong>[Underground Path-3:03 AM]<strong>

The path seemed to stretch on forever, but Aadon remained distracted by his thoughts of Gastly and Eric, and of Warner. Eric and his Pokémon were there for him in the end, but for a short time, he had felt alone for the first time. Numb and alone. For the first time in life, he had been given the chance to see who he was without the support of his friends and family, and what he saw was a shell.

When was the last time he had ever listened to himself? Who was he? Did the last name "Ronkowski" mean anything to him anymore?

His thoughts carried on until they were interrupted by the shrill shriek of a girl, which got progressively louder.

"Strange," Aadon thought. "I'm not even walking-"

Then Aadon saw her, a female about his height running towards him. Long shoulder length black hair with curls covered her face. She wore blue jeans and a black skin-tight tanktop with a red zip jacket on top. As she brushed aside her hair, her brown eyes, milk white skin, and small nose came into view, having been covered by the brown gloves and grey sneakers she wore.

And she was heading straight towards him, as fast as possible.

Suddenly, the voice a man followed, along with several footsteps. "Grab her! She has Pokeballs!"

Before Aadon knew it, she had jumped in front of him, nearly colliding with him as her raven black hair whipped into his face.

"Wha-" said Aadon before being cut off-one of many.

"These guys-after me-help-who-" the girl panted.

"Who are they? And who are you?" Aadon inquired.

"I don't know, but who are you?" the girl huffed.

"Not before you tell me who you are," Aadon replied, but before she could open her mouth, two pairs of feet stopped several feet behind her. She dashed behind Aadon, trying to gather safety.

What Aadon saw was a female in grey parachute pants and a black hoodless jacket, and a man wearing a grey hoodie and khaki pants, a black fedora on his head.

"Hand her over," the male with blond hair and blue eyes ordered.

"Who are you?" Aadon asked.

"That doesn't matter," the female with green hair and black eyes replied in her squeaky young voice. Both seemed slightly younger than Aadon.

"Why is nobody in the mood to introduce themselves tonight? First this girl, then-" Aadon muttered, taking out his Pokeball. "What do you want from her?"

"Her Chansey," the female responded. "Hand it over."

"What Chansey?" the girl behind Aadon questioned, almost authentically, which surprised Aadon.

"Are you fibbing?" Aadon whispered, to which the girl nodded. "Did you steal it from them?" the girl shook her head rapidly, trying to validate her claim.

"Machop, come on out!" the male ordered, throwing his Pokeball.

"Machop!" said a short, grey-skinned Pokémon with brown ridges on its head.

"Butterfree, show em where its at!" the girl yelled, throwing her Pokeball into the air. In a flash of light, the ball returned to her hand, and in the flew a Pokémon with white wings, a purple body, and glistening red eyes under two black antennas.

"Oh boy," Aadon shivered, hoping a bluff could get him by. "You don't want to face my Dragonite, do you?"

"D-dragonite? Those things are rare, dude!" the male exclaimed.

"Shut up, Ryan! He's bluffing. The Ridin Rhyhorns don't fall for bluffs," the girl hissed.

"Way to reveal our name, Jen" Ryan scoffed.

"Well, someone has too!" Jen yelled, turning to Aadon. "And you there, kid. The Chansey is ours!"

"Darn," Aadon threw his Pokeball, revealing his Clefairy, now energized and in prime condition.

"FreeEEeee!" Butterfree laughed.

"MA MA!" Machop fell over laughing.

"That's your Dragonite?" Ryan laughed.

"Told you so," Jen grinned.

"Uh, Metronome Clefairy?" Aadon gulped, trying to gather his courage.

"HA, Metronome! You gonna tail whip us?" Ryan laughed, Machop and Butterfree laughing next to him.

"FA-IRRRRRRY!" was all Aadon heard as a loud noise brought him and the girl behind him to his knees.

Then, the laughter stopped, as a flash of intense energy passed by Ryan and Jen, colliding with Machop and Butterfree.

As the flash of light ended, what Aadon saw was two knocked-out Pokémon and two surprised trainers.

"That's a-fine Dragonite you have-" Ryan quivered, his feet shaking. "Return Machop."

"I think the Ridin Rhyhorns gotta ride," Jen exclaimed, just as shocked. "Come back in, Butterfree."

As red light engulfed the two Pokémon, both Jen and Ryan retreated from the direction in which they came, sprinting as fast as they could.

"What, no more Pokémon?" Aadon laughed valiantly.

"FAI-RY!" Clefairy laughed as well, jumping into Aadon's arms.

"I guess not," the girl laughed lightly. "I can't thank you enough."

"WE'LL BE BACK WITH MORE MEN!" Ryan's voice yelled from ahead.

"RIDIN RHYHORNS AWAY!" Jen yelled.

"They seem more like kids at play then anything," Aadon sighed, now content. His bad mood had been erased completely.

"I feel better, Clefairy," Aadon told his Pokémon. "And for that, those raging Rhyhorn people have my gratitude. HAH!"

"FAIRY!"

"So-who are you?" Aadon chuckled, turning to the girl, who had a clueless expression on her face.

"I don't know," the girl shrugged naively, brushing back her black hair.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note [224/2013]: **

**WOO HO! MET ANOTHER RELEASE DATE! Be sure to look out for errors!**

**Special thanks to Pokestets for keeping up with this story! **

**Questions:**

**Q1: Did you laugh at the name "Ridin Rhyhorns"?**

**Q2: What did you think about Alena Ronkowski's revelation to Aadon?**

**Q3: Drake Smith (Pokestets23) vs Evan (Killer of Thy Cookies). Who would win?**


	13. Proven

_"Quit wasting time!" yelled a familiar male voice._

_"You're a sick and selfish kid!" echoed another female voice._

_"No, I-what is this?" Aadon heard himself say. "No, I-I'm not!"_

_"I never taught you to stop listening to your Pokemon," a voice repeatedly croaked beside Aadon's ear. _

_"Your parents should have never conceived you!" this voice Aadon recognized as his "foster" mother. _

__"I never taught you to stop listening to your Pokemon!"__

_"Squir-Squirtle!" a Pokemon's voice screamed as the Water type was lost in the darkness._

__"I never taught you to stop listening to your Pokemon!"_ _

_Emerging from the darkness was a sinister masked figure.  
><em>

_"Octavia," Aadon thought as a perplexing fire burnt within him. _

_Then-without control-Aadon reached over with a feeling the boy could not describe as anything other than raging desperation.  
><em>

_Now subjected to feelings of scalding anger, Aadon yanked the mask off of the creature that had taken everything from him._

_What he saw was a terror unlike any other. His worst fears had been realized._

_"No!" Aadon yelled. "It can't be!"  
><em>

_Horrifically, the unmasked monster repeated his exact words in a more grim tone._

_"No," the voice repeated, "It can't be!"_

_"S-STOP!" Aadon struggled, unable to move. "GET AWAY!"_

_"s-stop," the creature mocked, creeping ever closer to Aadon. _

_"NO, DON'T!" Aadon screamed. "I'm NOT YOU!"_

_"You are me and I am you," the creature horrifically whispered of its own accord._

_"S-STAY BACK!" Aadon cried desperately. "PLEASE!"  
><em>

_Aadon's worst fears had been realized: he had become evil. "You're mine..."_

_The fiend was his splitting image, wanting to join his other half and become more than whole.  
><em>

_And the desperately evil creature would get its wishes. "YOU'RE MINE!"_

* * *

><p><strong>[Route 6-10:11 AM]<br>**

The 14-year-old shot up with a jolt, shaking the wooden cart he had strangely been sleeping on. He laid back down, drenched in sweat as the memories of his horrific nightmare begin to fade. As much as he tried to forget, the malevolent image of himself as Octavia would not leave his mind. His heart and body still shook with rapidity, but his feelings were far from dark.

Yesterday had been one of the longest days of his life, but all of that didn't seem to matter. Aadon hadn't slept this well in days, let alone since the last time he had slept in a warm bed.

"Look who's awake?!" said a girl's voice across from Aadon. Turning his head, Aadon saw sitting across from him the girl from last night. Aadon couldn't believe how tunnel-like his vision had been!

"NEIGH!" a non-human voice cried happily. Still slightly stiff, Aadon simply moved his shoulder to find the source of the noise. From the corner of his eye, he could immediately tell he was looking at the magnificent Fire type Pokemon Rapidash. Of course, there weren't many Pokemon that could boast having the speed of 150 miles per hour with the ability to use the power of Fire at will.

"Yeah, about that," Aadon yawned, "what happened?"

"Well, you kinda' fell over from exhaustion after your little squabble with those annoying rascals," said a more elderly but energetic voice from around the cart. "I want to thank you for saving Kendra from those Pokemon thieves."

Aadon tilted his head to find the mystery women. Instead, he was blinded by the morning rays of the sun that seeped through the tall trees surrounding the open dirt road in any given direction.

Then, the women walked over to the open side of the cart the Rapidash was clearly carrying the load of. She was definitely an elderly women, but her figure was healthy and fit. She wore a red flannel shirt and black jeans. Her lengthy boots boasted spurs at the tips, obviously made for riding what seemed to be her Fire type.

"W-where i am?" Aadon asked sluggishly. "And how did I get here?"

"You're on the road to Oddish Hills, a gathering of farmers not too far down this road," the women rambled, swinging her silver ponytail aside. "Now we're not quite that famous because of nearby Vermillion City and it's little ships, but we do alright."

"Vermillion City," thought Aadon. He could lay low there for a few days while Gastly and Eric lead them off his trail. His Pokemon, much less himself, could not stand up to even the weakest of Cloak's grunts. The whole situation on Mt. Moon reeked of pure luck. "Clefairy. Hey, where's my Clefairy?!"

"Are you looking for your little pink friend, young fella with no name?" the women asked with a smile. "He's right here." Clefairy rushed from the side, happily as ever, and rushed to Aadon's side for an embrace.

"HAHA!" laughed Aadon as his Clefairy licked his forearm. "That really tickles! Quit that!"

"Fairy!" Clefairy grinned.

"You guys seem to get alone quite dandy," the women smiled. "What might your name be then, young fella with no name?"

"I have a name," the 14-year-old boy grinned, "and it's Aadon. My name is Aadon."

"I'm Jenna, just your local farmer and former explorer extraordinaire here at Oddish Hills," Jenna boasted. "Ya'll need to stop by and listen to my stories of adventure sometime."

"What about you?" Aadon turned to the strange girl he had meet last night. "Who are you?"

"I don't know," the girl said in a somewhat helpless tone.

"I've been her caretaker ever since I found her about 3 years ago collapsed at a ravine," Jenna sighed. "Poor girl was hurt really bad, but never mind that. Where are you headed?"

"I can't tell her the truth," Aadon thought immediately. "She'll drag me back to Cerulean City anyway. It's not like they want me over there, but still!"

"Rapidash-Rap?" the Fire type questioned, stomping its feet.

"Patience, girl," Jenna motioned her Fire type to stop.

"I'm going to Vermillion City," Aadon answered as firmly as possible, Clefairy by his side.

"Didn't ya hear?" Jenna replied. "Vermillion has been under a blockade for a day so far. You'll never get through by this road."

"By _this _road?" Aadon questioned.

"There's a path through Alder Pass" Jenna responded, "but until ya prove you can handle your own, I'm afraid I can't let you go."

"How do I do that?" Aadon asked right away.

"A battle," Jenna said, eyes focused on Aadon. "But first let's eat at my place!"

"The Vermillion City science convention," Aadon thought. "Knowing mom-_Alena, _she's going to present in dad's place. And they'll be waiting."

* * *

><p><strong>[Cerulean City-12:22 PM]<br>**

Inside the Pokemon center, Alena Ronkowski, Professor Oak, and Professor Birch had gathered in the lounge to discuss their future approach in the midst of impending dangers.

After last night's crisis, a tired Alena Ronkowski could not have been more glad to see the sun rise. Although the rays of the sun did not help her feel any less worried about the situation, a certain calm came from seeing the light of day.

For Professor Birch and Professor Oak, watching trainers walking in and out of the Pokemon center, greeting them happily, sharing battle stories with each other, and seeing Pokemon reunite with those trainer granted satisfaction.

But Birch had something else on his mind, and he had to speak.

"You don't have to go to the convention this year, Alena," Birch pleaded. "It's too dangerous."

"I have to go in my husband's place to the convention," Alena responded calmly. "And besides, I can't think of a better way to lure out the crooks who kidnapped him."

"Ok," Oak agreed sternly, "but me and Birch will accompany you to the convention for your safety. Gary and Brock will continue to follow Gastly and the other young man to see where they go, but we're fairly certain Aadon was trying to throw us off his trail."

"Are you just going to let her go?" Birch said angrily.

"She may be no safer at the scene of the crime," Oak stated, "which was her own house."

"True," Birch sighed, arms stiffly placed against the arms of his lounge chair.

Alena sat up in her chair, collecting her thoughts into one question. "How fast can we get into Vermillion City?"

"Well, there's a police blockade there that will supposedly continue for the next 48 hours, " Oak explained , "but we should be fine, because there are still three days until the convention begins."

"Well that gives me three days to gather Ted's materials and prepare for the presentation," Alena planned, "but why is there a police blockade?"

"There's been a string of crimes around the Vermillion City area," Birch replied, now resting back in his armchair.

"Cloak?" Alena asked immediately.

"No one knows," Birch responded. "None of the assailants could be related to Cloak's criminal record. But with the way our police force has been since the most of the previous Jenny's retired from field work, you can never be sure."

"Excuse me?" said Nurse Joy in a radiant voice attracting the attention of Alena, Birch, and Oak. "How is your Squirtle doing now?"

"We were going to ask you that, young lady," Oak smiled. "How is Squirtle?"

"Well, it says here you checked Squirtle out at 8 this morning," Nurse Joy responded with a smile as she scanned her clipboard.

"But we didn't!" Birch said, baffled by this new situation.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Nurse Joy frowned. "But it says here Squirtle was checked out under the name of Melvin."

"Who's Melvin?" Alena asked, half-smiling. "That's an unusual name."

"Now's not the time!" Birch yelled, eyes popping out.

"Who else but Aadon would come up with something like that?" Alena thought, smiling as she did. "If I know him pretty well, then I'd say he's going to be at Vermillion City as well."

"I'm sorry," Nurse Joy laughed nervously.

"No, I had a friend named Melvin check out Squirtle a few hours ago," Alena lied.

"Don't scare us like that," Oak said, regaining his composure.

"Sorry," Alena grinned, her mood lifted by hope.

* * *

><p><strong>[Oddish Hills-2:43 PM]<strong>

"Those bags aren't going to carry themselves!" Jenna grinned as she watched Aadon and Clefairy carry bags. Kendra accompanied their side-with no bags.

"So when are we going to battle? And why can't we use Rapidash?" Aadon groaned. Jenna slapped him on the side of his head. "Ow!"

"I told ya we're going to eat first!" Jenna scolded. "And Rapidash is not a tractor, young man!"

"Fairy," Clefairy sighed in defeat, shaking his head at Rapidash, to which the Fire type grinned with her long face.

"That's not what I meant," Aadon mumbled. "And thanks for letting me eat with you and Kendra."

"It's the least I can do for ya," Jenna smiled as she walked alongside him. "Now this town is a small one, so the grocery store is only a few paces down this street."

And right she was about Oddish Hills being a small town. Aadon assumed the town boasted a population of traders, farmers, and their families by what he had seen so far. Old wooden houses-unusually heavily modern from the inside-lined up the streets linearly. Living up to the name the town boasted, several Oddish could be seen roaming around town.

"At least half of the townsfolk in this little town have one," Jenna told the 14-year-old.

"Yeah, even I have one!" Kendra grinned. "I'll show you mine later, but you better ask nicely!"

"Is she always like this?" Aadon whispered to Jenna while Kendra was occupied with the thoughts of her Grass type.

"Only so long as I've known her," Jenna replied softly, a small simper indicating the old woman found Aadon's irritation hilarious.

The town itself was surrounded by hills, also living up to its name, and behind those hills stood many tall trees with pride, trees similar to the ones Aadon had seen on Route 6 before their little detour away from the main Vermillion City road into the deep forest.

"The air here is really pleasant," Aadon smiled, taking a deep breath.

"Hard to describe, ain't it?" Jenna smirked. "That's just what happens when all nature has harmony, though I can't say the same for Alder Pass."

As the trio and their Pokemon walked across the grassy, Aadon couldn't help but notice a large crowd scattered outside a modern building with a blue roof.

"The Pokemon mart," Aadon stated.

"What's that?" Kendra asked.

"It's a place where trainers can buy food, battle items, potions, and a bunch of other stuff," Aadon explained as best as he could.

"That's pretty sweet," Kendra said in obvious awe. For someone who could not recall anything from their life before the age of 10, she seemed very joyful.

"Ya, no other building in Kanto has a roof that shade of blue," Jenna said observantly, walking up to a spectator in the crowd of pale people. "What's going over here?"

"The mart's getting robbed, mam'," the man said in an accent not too far off from Jenna's.

"And ya'll are just standing out here and watching it like a soap opera," Jenna stared.

"If you wanna do something, then go do it!" the man grimaced, walking away as he mentioned one last detail: "The man has a Koffing!"

Squeezing through the crowd, Aadon, Kendra, and Jenna saw a man in a black jumpsuit grabbing the cashier by the collar. Beside him was the devious Poison Pokemon Koffing. The Pokemon emitted puffs of gas from the craters circling its spherical shape, and sneered as its owner made the cashier bring out boxes, presumably to carry out many goods.

Inside the market, there were several shelves parallel to the doorway, allowing spectators to only partially see the situation as the cashier and the thieving master and Pokemon stood in the back.

"Now, let me handle this one," Jenna said, eyes focusing on Kendra. "Do you understand?"

Her attention immediately shifted elsewhere when she heard people murmuring louder than before.

"Is he stupid?" she heard from a bystander.

"What is he doing," she heard someone else say.

Blankly, she turned her head to the spot where Aadon _had _been standing, and saw the 14-year-old-Pokeball in hand-hiding behind the shelf closest to the register.

"What are you doing?!" Jenna yelled, eyes popping out.

"Yo, hey what was that?!" the thief scowled, turning his head to meet Aadon, who had assumed a "shut up, Jenna" stance in front of the cash register.

"Koffing!" the Poison type sneered once more.

"Well my cover's blown," Aadon grumbled. "Paras!" As he threw his Pokeball to the ground, the red-and-white capsule sent out his Grass-Bug dual type, now standing beside him.

"I said no bystanders!" the thief yelled. "Now you're all gonna get it!"

"Paras! Pa-Paras!" the small Pokemon chanted.

"Be careful, young fella with no name!" Kendra said happily.

"That's ain't his name," Jenna sighed. "But in any case, be careful, ya twat."

"KOFF!" the Poison type mocked.

Aadon swallowed his breath slightly, trying to muster out the most authoritative voice he possibly could. "Leave this man alone, unless you want my Paras to teach you a lesson."

"Paras!"

"Yeah well, you've never faced my Koffing!" the thief yelled. "And you don't know who you're messing with!"

"Yeah, who's that?" Aadon scratched his head.

"Tackle, Koffing!" the thief ordered. His Poison type made a glide through a air, colliding with Paras.

"Push off of Koffing's head and use scratch," Aadon commanded. Pushing off of the rough surface of the Poison Pokemon, Paras fell on to Koffing's head, grating the thieving Pokemon with one of the six pairs of legs it possessed.

"Knock it off and use Tackle!" Squinting in pain, Koffing shook its head repeatedly, getting rid of the Grass-Bug Pokemon. Paras slid across the floor, landing beside Aadon.

"Use Tackle on both of them!" Koffing charged in between Aadon and Paras' proximity, in position to hit both of them. The trainer grabbed his Pokemon, evading the attack by mere seconds.

"Hey, you can't do that!" Aadon yelled angrily.

"I'm a thief, don't lecture me!" the man in black shouted back. "Hit em' from behind Koffing!" Koffing shot out from behind, taking the 14-year-old trainer and his unsuspecting Paras by surprise. Unfortunately, Paras took the blow, knocking the Grass type backwards.

"Darn!" Aadon thought, heart racing furiously. "Gotta stay calm and think of my next move-"

"Smog!"

Scouting Aadon and Paras, the toxic Pokemon attempted to get into close proximity to fire it's gaseous mist. Turning around to the exit of the market, Aadon grabbed his Paras and ducked as soon as the smog blew out from the craters on Koffing.

"Back away, everyone!" Aadon yelled, prompting Jenna to motion everyone back as the poisonous gas flew into the air. Then, the 14-year-old concocted a clever idea instantaneously. "Close the door!"

"What?" Kendra questioned.

"Close the door!" Aadon ordered. Jenna wouldn't argue after witnessing Aadon's confidence. She closed the door.

"What are you doing, you runt?!" the thief yelled. "Tackle!" Koffing made a furious push for Paras and Aadon.

"Watch out, boy!" the cashier yelled from underneath the checkout desk.

"Slash attack, with your best shot," Aadon ordered. Paras complied, using a jump as a momentum to take Koffing's attack head on. The two attacks collided once more, as Aadon had predicted from their previous collision.

"Smog-"

"You can't use Smog," Aadon grinned. "You'll poison yourself."

"What, I-shut up!" the thief yelled. "That's cheating!"

"What about when you hit me and my Pokemon," Aadon yelled, eyes popping out.

"Fairy," Clefairy sighed, hitting its head on the mart wall in annoyance.

"Amen," Jenna groaned, now sitting on the floor cross-legged.

"There's an air vent up there," the cashier mentioned, pointing to a large vent at the center of the store the thief had unfortunately missed until now. "Sorry to ruin your plan, but that's an air vent, boy."

"I was bluffing!" Aadon yelled. "Spore!" Koffing, distracted from battle along with Paras, redoubled its efforts to knock Paras off its head. The Grass type reacted faster, releasing several misty spores into several of Koffing's craters.

"Yeah, what does that do?" the thief laughed. "I'm warning you not to mess with the Ro-"

"I don't care who you are," Aadon interrupted, "but you have 20 seconds before Koffing falls asleep."

"He's right," the cashier pointed out, bringing the thief's laughing to a standstill.

"You runt! You may have bested me this time, but-oh Smokescreen!" Koffing, already yawning, dismissed fumes into the air, fogging up the entire mart. Aadon heard the door slam open, the smoke seeping outside and fogging up the perimeter of the store momentarily. Bystanders-including Kendra, Rapidash, Clefairy, and Jenna, backed away from the smelly odor.

A few minutes passed before the grayish smoke cleared. Aadon and Paras had taken up position alongside the cashier to make sure the thief could not get his hands on the boxes he so desperately needed.

"Is he gone?" Aadon asked.

"Guess so," Jenna answered. "With deep woods and high hills right behind the mart, escape is definitely easy."

"Anything stolen, mister?" Kendra asked the cashier.

"A bit of a miss, young girl, but nothing stolen thanks to this young man," the cashier smiled as he inspected some of the damage to his shop.

"Are you proven now?" Aadon asked seriously to Jenna. After this little debacle, there must have been some respect for him as a battler and as someone who could fend for himself. Even if she didn't believe in his actions, many witnesses had seen the little scuffle.

"No, not proven," Jenna scowled, "that was some real luck, young fella!"

"Paras," Paras sighed, climbing onto Aadon's shoulder.

"Hey, we're back for your Chansey, girl!" a voice suddenly yelled from behind them, that of a familiar young male.

"We're gonna get it this time because we have our big bro!" a female voice said within close range, the sound of footsteps getting louder and closer.

When the footsteps stopped, Jenna, Kendra, Clefairy, Paras, and Aadon turned their heads to meet two familiar faces alongside one new one in a larger frame. Unlike the two smaller kids who were clearly around Aadon and Kendra's age, this new larger face seemed to be smiling vibrantly.

"Fairy!" Clefairy said, standing firmly in front of Aadon.

"The two rough Rhydon kids from last night," Aadon explained to Jenna as Kendra backed away behind the two. "Ren and Jill."

"Ah, howdy do, Ren and Jill," Jenna smiled.

"It's Ryan and Jen!" yelled the boy, "and we're the _Ridin' Rhyhorns!_"

"Yeesh, don't get offended," Aadon groaned.

"And our new friend here is our older bro, Harry." said Jen with a smirk. "He's going to take you all on with his Graveler."

"What about your Butterfree?" Aadon asked Jen blankly. "And your brother's Machoke."

"It was a Machop, though I kind of want a Machoke," Ryan grinned, twiddling his thumbs.

"Can I just take him on now?" Harry grinned, taking several steps back from Aadon and holding a Pokeball in his hand. "I've been waiting for a challenge for awhile! I wish you good luck against my awesome Graveler. I hope you're a challenge!"

The very tall and slightly wider man wore a sleeveless jacket and black jeans, matching the color scheme of the other two.

"Anyone want to step in?" Aadon asked the crowd of spectators, who watched while murmuring among themselves. "Yeah I didn't think so. Let's go Paras!"

"Paras!"


	14. Nightmare Under the Clear Night Sky

**[Oddish Hills-3:16 PM]**

"Great, another battle," Jenna sighed. "I guess your gonna be proven after this one, young fella."

"FA-iry!" Clefairy responded, as if to remind Jenna to keep her promise.

"Yeah," Jenna replied in a daze, taking a seat alongside Kendra at a distance far enough to avoid the battlers.

The crowd gathered around once more, having dispersed momentarily after the little altercation with the thief at the Pokemon mart. Unfortunately for Aadon, everyone enjoyed watching his problems, but nobody enjoyed taking them on themselves.

No, this little battle belonged to him.

"Let's raise a little bet," Ryan grinned. "If our bro Harry wins, we get Chansey."

"And if I win?" Aadon asked, rather confident of his Paras, who lay still and prepared for battle. "Maybe you'll explain why you're after Chansey in the first place!"

"Maybe," Jen scoffed, avoiding eye contact and staring off into space, which Jenna immediately noticed.

"Graveler, let's give these people a show!" Harrison yelled cheerfully as he threw his Pokeball to the ground. With a click and a flash, there stood bipedal and boulder-like object with eyes just as radiant as its owner.

The Rock type and the Grass focused on each other, clearly ready to engage in battle.

"Good luck, Aadon!" Kendra cheered.

"Tackle attack, Graveler!" Harrison ordered, seizing the first move by quick surprise. Fortunately for Paras, the spacing was enough to evade the attack with ease.

"Slash," Aadon commanded. Paras scrambled to Graveler's front side, striking with a powerful Slash. The attack did little to affect the Rock type as Paras bounced away in retreat, creating distance.

"Take Down!" Harrison ordered quickly. Graveler charged forward at the retreating Paras, hitting the Grass type across the left flank and propelling the Pokemon into a skid across the ground. The attack managed to gather some "oohs" and "ahhs" from the still crowd.

"Get up and follow up with another Slash, quick!" Aadon shouted as the Grass-Bug Pokemon shot up from its skidding position rapidly, crawling forward at a fast speed.

"That creature is really quick," Ryan noted.

"I just hate Bug types," Jen said with a unusually pale face, making Ryan sigh with embarrassment.

"Grab that Paras!" Harrison grinned. As Paras jumped up for the attack in close proximity, Graveler utilized its long back arms to grab hold of the Grass type.

"Ah boy," Jenna groaned.

"Change your move to Leech Life!" Aadon ordered. Still within the grasp of Graveler, Paras latched its mouth to Graveler, attempting to drain energy from the Rock type.

"What?" Harrison said, somewhat confused.

"Ew!" said Jen fearfully.

"Uh, Aadon," mumbled Kendra. "I don't think-"

"Got you!" Aadon grinned.

Right away, Paras leaped backwards of its own accord and began to run back and forth. The Grass type whined in disgust, spitting out pebbles left and right.

"I don't think that was a really good idea," Harrison groaned. "That doesn't look fun."

"PARAS! PARAS! PARAS!"

Suddenly, Aadon was smacked in the back of his head by Jenna. "Ow! What the heck!"

"You don't use a Bug type move against a Rock type, Slowpoke for brains!" Jenna yelled annoyingly.

"Clefairy!" agreed the Normal type.

"Gosh, sorry!" Aadon whined. "You okay, Paras?"

"Paras!" the Grass type exclaimed, ready to battle.

"Rock Throw!" Harrison commanded. Several of the bystanders backed away as Graveler took up a mound of hard dirt from the ground and propelled it towards Paras.

"Dodge, Paras!" Aadon ordered rather calmly. Paras made an evasive movement to the left, narrowly avoiding the hard dirt that scattered around the spectators when it came crashing down, creating a cloud of visible dust for a short time.

"Stun Spore threw the dust cloud!" Aadon ordered as Paras fired a cloud of yellow mist into the cloud of dist, the two foggy particles dancing around effortlessly together in the air.

"Step back Graveler!" Harrison yelled. Much to his surprise, Graveler could not step back. "I said step back!"

"Grav..."

Abruptly, the Rock type begin to emitted an air of static around it.

"The young fella paralyzed the Graveler through the dust cloud," Jenna said in awe. "And if it wasn't enough that Graveler couldn't even get a whiff of the Stun Spore in the dust around the field of battle, the big guy was too Slowpoke to dodge it!"

"Wow," Kendra said in amazement.

"Bullet Seed!" Aadon ordered as the dust cleared. Paras inched with great rapidity towards the paralyzed Graveler, mouth emitting a white beam. "Now!"

The Grass type slugged sphere-like projectiles of Grass-type energy at a quick and energetic pace, hitting the immobile Rock type with great force.

"Tackle! You can do it, Graveler!" Harrison ordered. The Rock type Pokemon's eyes shot open as it charged at the vulnerable Paras, knocking the Grass type backwards.

Fortunately, Paras did not lose balance, and skipped forward to retaliate on command. "Bullet Seed!"

Again, the Grass-Bug type fired seeds of energy at Graveler, hitting the Pokemon with improved precision.

The cheers of the crowd grew louder, its size now having doubled. People of all ages stood all around town, their movement having come to a complete still.

"Pa-Paras..."

"Gra-veler..."

"Fight through the Bullet Seed!" Harrison ordered with a grin. "Full power Take Down!"

"Full power, Paras!" Aadon smirked, allowing the duel of strength to continue.

Though they were extremely exhausted, neither Paras nor Graveler wanted to concede defeat to the other. Despite the disadvantage, the sturdy Rock type put up a persistent effort in an attempt to seize the win. Paras fought back with equal force, firing energy projectiles at a consistent pace to match the force of Graveler's Take Down.

"It looks like they're actually enjoying this," Ryan said, his mouth wide open. "Like they have a respect for each other."

"And you know what they say about trainers and their Pokemon reflecting their emotions," Jen added. "I haven't seen Harrison this happy in a long time."

"Be this battle as it may, I'll be Wormadamed if Paras' Grass type advantage doesn't take its toll!"

"PAAAR!"

"GRAVELER!"

The force of the attack had generated too much energy to be contained, resulting in a small explosion with a force powerful enough to knock Paras several feet backwards. The agile Grass type maintained balance on the way down, landing as straight as possible. The fatigue seemed evident on landing as Paras struggled to stay up until the winner could be decided.

When the smoke dissipated, Graveler stood tall, weak but ready to continue.

The crowd stood in silence, waiting for the next clash.

Then, with a grand smile, the Rock type Pokemon fell to the floor.

"Aw man!" Harrison frowned.

"Harry lost!" Jen groaned.

"Aw man," Ryan grumbled,"we lost the bet!"

"Wow!" Kendra cheered as the crowd went wild.

"Well, I'll be a Mankey's uncle," Jenna said, shocked. "He actually went out and did it. I got nothing left to say him!"

"Take a good rest," Aadon said to his Paras as he returned the Grass type to its capsule. For a split second, Aadon could have sworn he had seen Paras collapse as the light engulfed the Grass type. This made him smile. "Paras really tried hard."

Harrison approached Aadon-smiling with joy-and shook his hand. "That was a really awesome battle. You're Paras is really amazing!"

As much as Aadon wanted to be a humble person, it seemed difficult during moments of praise. "You're a great battler too! I would've lost if Paras hadn't been a Grass type."

"Don't think of it so objectively, kiddo," Jenna smiled, walking up to the two of them. "Speaking of objects, we made somewhat of a little bargain."

"Yeah, but I kind of wish it wasn't true," Harrison frowned, putting his head down.

"Don't tell em'!" Jen spat.

"We don't have much of a choice-Mia is running out of time."

"Who?" asked Kendra, joining the group of friends.

"Let's talk about this at my inn," Jenna said as she looked upon a crowd of viewers who did not seem like they would disperse anytime soon. The sun seemed to shine brighter than ever as the evening approached, but the winds had accumulated into a gust during the battle.

"You have an inn?" Aadon smiled.

"Sure do," Jenna grinned back. "I got a question for you. Where did your Paras learn Bullet Seed?"

"It's a long story about an old friend," Aadon responded. "Maybe I'll tell you sometime soon."

"Please don't," Jen said with a grunt.

"Don't worry about her," Ryan whispered. "She likes to hold grudges about everything.

This earned the boy a hit to the head from Jen. "Ouch! Sorry!"

And so, the group, now including Jenna's Rapidash, Clefairy, Aadon, Jenna, Kendra, and the "Ridin Rhyhorns" made their way to Jenna's inn at the center of Oddish Hills.

* * *

><p><strong>[Saffron City-4:50 PM]<strong>

Dr. Ronkowski, accompanied by two men in beige hoods, found himself being forcefully dragged somewhere upstairs.

"Hopefully you're taking me to a room quite brighter and cheery than this one," Dr. Ronkowski joked, but to no response from the grunts.

The end of the stairs coincided with a doorway, presumably locked. One of the grunts let go of the shackled Dr. Ronkowski and went over to the door to unlock it with a key of some sorts, while the other grunt freed Dr. Ronkowski.

"We're sorry it has to be this way," the grunt said in a very genuine tone. "You know something we don't, and if you would just tell us, we'd let you go."

"Even if I were to tell you, what you're getting yourself into would be far too dangerous," Dr. Ronkowski sighed. "I'm sorry I'll have to share such such secrets."

Both Dr. Ronkowski and the grunt turned their heads to face an opening doorway. Had bright light been the only thing the old scientist sought after a little over a week of imprisonment, his wish had be fulfilled.

A bright light pierced Dr. Ronkowski's eyes, forcing him to squint to better adjust to his surroundings. Human anatomy would have told him to keep one eye shut in order to help both adjust to the surroundings, but he was no doctor.

"Ah yes, quite bright," Dr. Ronkowski noted as he was helped by the grunts to a round table in front of him with a magnificent wooden chair. When the scientist had arranged himself comfortably, his adjusting eyes saw a middle-aged man about Dr. Ronkowski's age in a brown business suit walking over to the table. As Dr. Ronkowski's eyes adjusted, he noted the bright light had come from a majestic chandelier above their single table, which was quite small when compared to the size of the entire room.

The man sat himself down, and Dr. Ronkowski knew immediately who it was. Behind the man stood two grunts, who pushed him into his chair.

"You have to help me!" the man pleaded. "They've taken Silph Scope, and they're going to steal all the Master Balls!"

"Felix Silph, the son of the late founder and owner of Silph Co.?" Dr. Ronkowski asked rhetorically, his eyes full of concern, now reaching out to Felix's hand.

"They're going to use the Master Balls and then they're going to kill me!" Felix cried. "You have to help!"

"What do I do?" Dr. Ronkowski said desperately. "Have they hurt you, Sir?"

"Man, you are a sucker for sad-sack routines," Felix suddenly uttered, chuckling slowly. "HahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA! Did you really think I meant any of that?"

"I had a feeling," Dr. Ronkowski sighed. "Especially after your past attempt to take over the Silph Co. empire using the help of Team Rocket."

"It's all in the name of business and profits," Felix grimaced. "Pokemon don't make the world go round. Money made off of using Pokemon does."

"I'm not sure your father felt the same way," Dr. Ronkowski commented.

"Yeah, well what do you know about how he felt?" Felix scoffed, avoiding eye contact.

"He actually looks somewhat hurt by those remarks," Dr. Ronkowski thought.

"Now I'm sure you have a lot of questions," Felix continued, rather calm, "but before you ask, let me give you a statement you may not very much like to hear."

"What's that?" Dr. Ronkowski.

"Your adopted _son _is out looking for you," Felix grinned smugly. "With a 'wittle Clefairy by his side. And he's headed to Vermillion City right now, the heart of the Indigo Science convention where your wife is going as well."

"What the?" was all Dr. Ronkowski could say before his face displayed a look of horror and shock. However, the aged scientist regained his composure. "He'll do alright."

"What makes you so sure?" Felix smirked. "He won't even survive another encounter with Nero or Octavia, two of Cloak's top generals."

"What does this _Cloak _want from me?" Dr. Ronkowski asked calmly.

"Oh I think you know that from your past involvements with Team Rocket," chuckled Felix, "but let me narrate the story for you. They funded your little ambition to bend nature's laws, and in return you helped them use the shadow cipher to create their perfect machines."

"You don't have to narrate what I already do," Dr. Ronkowski said while looking down at this hands.

"The reason that you're here should be very clear then, " Felix responded quickly. "You know something Cloak doesn't know about the old formula, and you're going to tell us about it."

"What do you get out of this?" Dr. Ronkowski questioned.

"Profit and glory," Felix smirked. "I'm earning a major sum of the profits. Oh, the money people will pay to use or abuse technologies like ciphers. And let's not forget the glory that will be brought back to Silph Co. We'll be the largest empire in not just Kanto, but in all the world!"

"If this is how you intend to earn your glory!" Dr. Ronkowski laughed, mostly when he thought of the very paradox of driving the earning of glory through fear.

"Now, back to your cell then," Felix stood up. "Take him back to his cell, guards."

As Dr. Ronkowski walked back to his cell, he could only think of his traveling son, adopted or not. "Be careful Aadon."

* * *

><p><strong>[Alder Pass-8:57 PM]<strong>

Having stored all of their Pokemon with the exception of Jenna's Rapidash-the mode of transportation for the female travelers-the trainers had set out to

"We have to get to Mia fast," Ryan said rather quickly. "I don't know how long she's going to hold up so well!"

"You've said that 100 times," Jenna grumbled from the back of her Rapidash, the Fire type also looking quite annoyed. "Complaining will not get us to the cave she is in any faster. I Know my way around here, so stay calm."

"Neigh," Rapidash commented.

"Let's get there fast so we can fix things," Aadon stated as he walked alongside the cart carrying Jen and Kendra, a bit close to the left side of the forested path.

"Be careful. There's a ledge there," Jenna warned, making Aadon skip away slightly.

Aadon noticed both Kendra and Jen seemed awfully quiet, so he asked. "You guys okay?"

"Do I look okay?!" Jen jumped up, making Aadon go pale.

"Whoa, sis!" Harrison and Ryan exclaimed.

"Jeez, calm down," Aadon shot back, giving Jen a light shove.

"S-sorry," Jen said rather quietly, taking Aadon by surprise. "I-I'm just afraid of the dark and Ghost type Pokemon."

Looking towards Jen, Aadon tried his best to comfort her. "I've been there. Imagine dealing with a Ghost type Pokemon that tries to scare your pants off everyday."

"You?" Jen asked, a little curious.

"Yeah," Aadon sighed, gazing at the clear and starry night sky. The whole situation reminded Aadon of not more than a week ago when he had decided to run away from home and decided to explore Pokemon tower in pursuit of the claw marks the perpetrator had left at the scene of the crime.

"Cool," Jen smiled. "Thanks."

His thoughts fell down to reality when he saw that the energetically happy Kendra had been completely quiet the whole time. "Kendra, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I know why Jen is scared, but what about you?" Harrison questioned.

"Go on, you can tell the _Ridin' Rhyhorns_," Ryan urged, rather comically.

"Are you still on that?" Aadon sighed.

"It's a good name!" Ryan shouted in defense.

"Hah, well it's nothing," said Kendra, half smiling. "I just got a little headache. I guess it's the whole vibe of this place."

"Vibe?" Jenna questioned. "Ya a Psychic Pokemon now, Kendra?"

"I don't know what she means, but I don't like the energy of this place either," Aadon added. "I don't what to call it-the vibe I guess."

"Well some traders at the inn were having some small talk about it," Ryan remembered.

* * *

><p><em>While his siblings and his unlikely new friends talked away about things to eat, a bored Ryan couldn't help but overhear a loud conversation at a table not too far down the inn.<em>

_"So ya gone and went to Vermillion City to sell yer stock at the port?" _

_"Whatever I could sell. It seems there hasn't been a moment where I haven't lost some of my crop without any means of explanation."_

_"Don't ya tell me you mean Alder Pass?!" I steer clear as much as possible."_

_"I wanna, but it saves me so much time and money to go through Alder Pass, Ghost Pokemon or not."_

_"I hear of stray orb-things just flying through the air and crashing into trees! Why would ya even go that way?!"_

_"I don't know about that one. I haven't seen anything that peculiar yet, but I've heard of it. The only thing that really scares me are the poachers traveling with nasty Pokemon by their side. Those poor Pokemon."_

_"Poachers? Ghosts?" Ryan thought. "Mia."_

* * *

><p>"I call fib," Jenna scoffed. "Ghost Pokemon aren't usually malevolent unless provoked 'round these parts. They do some of these things, but ya rarely see it happen."<p>

"Phew," the others sighed.

"Poachers are real though," Jenna said immediately after, making the others go pale. "Skin mostly Ekans and Arbok for profit."

"Poachers?!" Ryan shivered. "And we came this way with Mia why?"

"To escape those goons, remember?" Jen responded, somewhat annoyed.

"Not to mention we left Mia behind with Nurse Joy to get help," Harrison added.

"Shush!" replied Ryan and Jen in unison.

While the Rhyhorn trio bickered and Kendra sat quietly in the cart behind guided by Jenna and her Rapidash, Aadon's bad feelings seemed to be getting much worse. Perhaps he had hallucinated these feelings from paranoia. He looked over at Kendra, who seemed to be fine despite her supposed migraine. _  
><em>

Aadon's fears came to be realized when he looked up to see a dark orb flying in the sky.

The orb came flying with rapidity a naked eye could miss in a blink, and left behind the noise of a large explosion not too far off from where Aadon and his friends were. Now hiding under a tree with Ryan and Jen, Aadon and the two siblings could only watch as dust accumulated in the air and the earth shook around them.

The starry night had broken into a nightmare of dark energy. To Aadon, it almost felt like the end times because of the area's seclusion from civilization.

"I'm scared," Jen cried, sobbing into Ryan's arms.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine!" Jenna yelled from ahead, moving behind a tree to the left of the path as another explosion came rattling in the distance, the elderly lady escorting the frightened Harrison and Kendra.

"Hey, watch the ledge!" Aadon yelled, noticing the wooden cart was a little too close to the edge for comfort.

Suddenly, another explosion shattered the sound barrier of the area around them, this time several flurries of dark energy striking closer than ever before. No time could understandable be more unsuitable to ask questions, but Aadon could not help but wonder why this was happening to them.

His ears ringed in pain, and he could barely make out the shouting and crying of his friends around him. He had nothing to lose. He just wanted them to be safe.

"Please, Arceus," he pleaded in his mind, giving up all logical thought.

"It's g-going to be o-o-ok," Ryan tried to comfort his sister as best as he could.

Suddenly, as the thunderous noise filled the sky, a huge explosion occurred so quickly, Aadon's eyes shut closed as he flew backwards due to the force of the explosion.

His ears ringed in pain, and he could barely make out the shouting and crying of his friends around him.

With little awareness of being consciousness, Aadon felt like he had shifted into some place between his dreams and reality as he felt himself being dragged across dirt by several hands. His vision blurred in and out, and he heard voices of concern around him. Just two voices.

After what seemed like an hour, Aadon's hearing and vision returned slowly but surely.

He could make out two voice, but they seemed to be echoing from far away.

Struggling to get up, Aadon turned on to his stomach, hoping to push off the ground.

"Stay down," Ryan muttered from above him as he felt a strong tap to his back. Looking up, Aadon saw a visibly shaken-up Ryan and shuddering Jen on their knees, obviously watching out for something.

The sound of forceful footsteps inched closer, before slowing down in frequency, to what Aadon could make out as going from running to walking very slowly.

"Whoever it is, they're cautious about something," Aadon thought, still in a daze but wide awake.

"Poachers?" Jen whispered to Ryan rather rhetorically. Her brother responded with a small shrug.

"Where are the others?" Aadon asked in a quiet voice.

"I-I don't know," Ryan responded, still quivering considerably.

"But-" Aadon was interrupted by a wavering finger from Jen as both siblings turned their attention to the sounds of the footsteps in the still night, now close enough to be no more than several feet away.

"Squad 6 to command, we've done our part in the area," a voice said over what Aadon believed to be a communicator, followed by static.

"Roger that, squad 6," said the communicator. "One more sweep to be sure. The leader wants to make sure they didn't cut through the farming towns."

"Hear you loud and clear," the voice replied with a sigh. "Over and out."

"Gengarrr!" a non-human voice hissed.

"Should we do it?" a different voice asked, making Aadon all the more curious to steal a closer look.

"I think we should. My Gengar needs some game to hunt."

"GENGARRR!"


	15. Across the Corner

**[Alder Pass-9:12 PM]**

"GENGARR!"

"They're gonna do it," Ryan squeaked quietly, closing his eyes.

"Darn," Jen cried, gripping on to both Aadon and Ryan as their bodies sank to the ground swiftly for protection. Would they be as lucky as last time?

"Alright, Gengar-" before the cruel stranger could finish giving his orders, out came static noise, which Aadon assumed was straight out of the communicators they owned.

"GARR!" Gengar shouted impatiently.

"What? Retreat?" the man questioned. "But why now? A breach from the Vermillion City gate?"

The words seemed clear as day, but ever difficult to decipher as Aadon's ears still struggled to adjust to the quiet of the forest. The sensation could only be described as several times that of walking out of a Team Electabuzz baseball game.

Not wanting to risk a closer look, the three remained in their prone positions behind the large shrub they had positioned themselves behind only minutes ago, only able to listen.

"As you wish, commander," the man said with obvious disappointment in his breath.

"Vermillion City?" the other voice asked.

"Hopefully there's some real game that way," the man replied with a scoff, his footsteps trailing off into the distance.

The sound of mixing footsteps in the dirt quickly vanished after several minutes, the echoes dying down not long after.

"I think they're gone and out," Ryan noted, looking at Aadon. "You wanna check things out?"

"If you're gonna be like that," Aadon sighed, wiping the sweat off his palms using his shirt. "After all that, I really just want to fall asleep here."

"But what if they sweep through here again?" Jen asked with regained sense. "Go check out it out, or are you Torchic?"

"What did you say?" Aadon turned to her with a intense look of annoyance.

"CHIC CHIC CHIC CHIC!"

"Yeah, well-"

"Or are you Magikarp?" Ryan added, a devious smirk on his face.

"Fine, I'll go look," Aadon groaned. Scared as he may have been over the course of his unorthodox travels through Kanto, being anything close to a coward to anyone around him instantly made him boil inside.

Thus, the 14-year-old stood up, quick enough to startle both Ryan and Jen. Scanning the forest path, Aadon could see nothing but several feet of the dirt path up ahead, a innumerable mix of trees, and damage ranging from things as small as newly formed potholes to things as scary as entire fallen trees.

"We're in the clear," Aadon stated, "and don't do that whole Torchic thing again."

"It was just a joke," Jen grinned, punching Aadon on the shoulder.

"Well, it's not like any of us wet our pants or anything!" Ryan joked, making Aadon go pale. "Uh, you okay man?"

"Yeah, n-nothing," replied Aadon nervously. He turned to Ryan. "I left my PokeGear back at home. See if you can contact Harrison with it. I don't see any trace of the cart or the others up here, so maybe they dropped down the ledge."

"Yeah, Shadow Ball attacks don't just up and disintegrate people," Jen said while snapping her fingers. "Way to use the slow noggin!"

"I got two words for you and your Butterfree: Hyper Beam," Aadon said with a grin.

"Shut up!" Jen yelled, face red with irritation.

"Alright, let's call and hope for the best-and for a good signal," Ryan crossed his fingers as he dialed Harrison's number. "Come on Harry, where are you bro?"

* * *

><p><strong>[Alder Pass-10:16 PM]<strong>

The night pressed on without a call, going dark and lighting up again as clothes hovered around the full moon and scattered off into the distance. Then, as Harrison kept his Pokegear above his head as he had done for the last hour, the device vibrated.

"Finally got bars," said Harrison with a grin as he put his mouth over the Pokegear in his hand. "Ryan?"

"Man I've been trying to get a hold of you for like an hour, bro!" Ryan said, worried. "Are all of you guys okay?"

"The ladies are doin' fine down here too, kidaroo," said Jenna behind Harrison, a bit sarcastically.

"Yeah, very funny," Ryan said with a chuckle both excited yet annoyed due to not wanting to cater the old woman's sense of humor. "But really, are you guys okay? Aadon and Jen are fine, they're listening on."

"Well, I managed to return Rapidash through all the darn chaos, but I've gone and busted up my arm," Jenna said while talking into the phone. "I've done worse."

"What about Chansey and the annoying sunshine girl-in that order?" Ryan asked immediately.

"That's no really funny, bro," Harrison frowned.

"Man, I just trying to lighten up the mood up with a _good _joke," Ryan groaned.

"They're okay, but Kendra is unconscious," Harrison replied. "What do we do now, little bro?"

"We reunite the _Ridin' Rhyhorns_-stop it with the grin, Aadon-at the cave where Mia is," Ryan explained. "She's in Nurse Joy's hands."

"What about the Arbok that have holed up there?" Harrison asked. "I hope they don't hurt Mia."

"Arbok?" Jenna jumped in. "Well I'll be a Snorlax on a little palm tree. I haven't rustled with Arbok in years."

"It's a small colony of Arbok hiding from the...," Ryan responded, his voice slightly marred by static. "Nurse Joy...caretaker...colony"

"Ok," Harrison said with a nod. "You're starting to sound off, Ryan."

"O..Ok Just...go...cave," Ryan finished, as the signal went dead.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" said Jenna with a smile. "Ursaring hiberation season? Let's get moving to the cave."

"Do you know how to get back up to the path?" Harrison asked. "Ryan told me the cave is a while away."

"Vermillion one? Sure do!" Jenna beamed. "Co-lead the way then, tall fella. We'll put Kendra up on Rapidash and get her fixed up soon."

After releasing Rapidash and carefully positioning Kendra on the top of the Fire type, the two set out for the cave, though Jenna held another worry in her thoughts. "We'll get ya help soon, Kendra."

* * *

><p><strong>[Unknown Location-6:34 AM]<strong>

Far away from Aadon and his friends at a location hidden in the depths of Alder Pass, a man sat in the darkness of a poorly-lit building. A man in black walked into the room, taking a bow for the man.

"Commander, I bring you news from Squad 6." said the man in black bowing down.

Suddenly, the obvious leader between the two men in the room stood up from his chair, and placed his hands on his servant's shoulders. "You may stand and be at ease, recruit."

"Thank you, Commander," the man replied with appreciation, firm but relaxed.

"Is squad 6 in pursuit of the breach on the Vermillion City sector of the Vermillion road?" the leader asked in a calm tone.

"Yes sir."

"I want you to take a few of our men and scout out the perpetrators," the leader ordered. "And find out one more thing for me."

"Yes sir?"

"If the perpetrator Cloak, show them no mercy," the leader said with his fist clenched. "Kanto will be ours once more. Soon our ultimate project will begin creation, but first we must run a field test."

"Field test, sir?" the grunt inquired.

"They _must _use their ciphers," the leader replied, now starting at the blinds of his window. "Only then will our plan succeed. Now then, carry out your orders."

"Right away, commander!" the grunt, his hand in a salute. "All Pokemon exist for the glory of Team Rocket." Behind him, the leader heard footsteps, followed by the closing of the door to his little room in the small building.

Chuckling at the recruit's words, he pressed open the blinds to let in the developing rays of the sun.

"For the glory of Team Rocket," he smirked.

* * *

><p><strong>[Alder Pass-7:13 AM]<strong>

Meanwhile, as Jen, Aadon, and Ryan traversed the long dirt path through the forest, the sun shone bright light throughout the forest, as if to remove the darkness from the nightmare they had witnessed last night.

For the last few hours, the trio had taken sleeping breaks, with at least one person on watch at all times. Ever-so-often, Aadon stood on watch with his Clefairy so he wouldn't have to stay up alone. Though unnatural potholes and fallen trees in number reminded them constantly of their encounter, they slept peacefully, even with only hours of rest.

"15-20 minute naps are actually good for you," explained Aadon to Ryan and Jen, the two siblings staring blankly with yawns. "You see, the REM cycle-"

Regardless of whether they were listening or not, Aadon felt a new comfort in sharing his challenges and words with others.

"If Warner and I were still friends-" thought Aadon. "were we really?" He couldn't help but think about his "friend" and the Squirtle that he had hurt.

In between these intervals of sleep, the group had slowly progressed through the forest. Though the path remained the same, the evergreen forests soon retired to the background and were replaced by rugged mountain lines and cascades of water. The path curled around the rugged mountain to their right, leaving the teens continuously making guesses on what stood across the corner.

Who would use Pokemon in such a destructive manner, even if it was to get their way?

The thought was still on Aadon's mind as he walked along-at least when he could think.

"Are we almost there?" Jen asked, tapping Aadon's shoulder. "Are we there yet?"

"For the last time-" Aadon grumbled as he snapped out of his daydream. "Ask your brother! I've never been here!"

"Well you don't need to yell," Jen snapped back.

"Guys, keep your heads screwed on," Ryan said, grabbing them both. "We're almost-"

"Get that creature!" a voice echoed from across the corner of the mountain, where the path seemed to be trudging downwards.

"I'll skin you alive," another voice yelled.

"What the heck is that?" Ryan whispered, now hiding behind several boulders along the large path with Aadon and Jen.

"CATE!" a third voice hissed from around the bend, seemingly not very far.

"You wanna go take a look at that?" said Jen anxiously while tapping Aadon on the back repeatedly.

"Let's go Clefairy," Aadon responded, a nervous sweat taking over his body. Of all the people to walk potentially into danger, why him?

"Fairy," said Clefairy to Ryan and Jen, waving his finger in metronome position before joining Aadon.

Jen raised her eyebrow. "What the heck was that?"

"Whatever the round pink thing said, it's making me feel guilty," said Ryan as he took Jen's hand and followed slowly behind Aadon and Clefairy. "Keep your Pokemon ready."

When the three turned the corner, they saw a Raticate and Golbat. Between the three Pokemon stood three men in black, presumably the owners. The first thing Aadon noticed was the small creature between the three Pokemon, cornered by a two story fall to the left and the men with their Pokemon to the right.

The Pokemon was very serpentine in shape, and boasted a shiny purple coat. The creature's yellow eyes looked extremely vicious. The creature slithered about, snapping its fangs at the three men and their Pokemon, trying to fend off their advances.

The Pokemon seemed weak, bruises and wounds plastered across its legless body.

"That doesn't look good," said Aadon, teeth gritted. "Why is it always us?"

"Come here you stupid Ekans!" said one of the men-boasting a rather long beard-as he advanced. "We can do this the hard way or the brutal way if you want my Raticate to bite through your face!"

"I haven't skinned one good in days, Reinard," the shortest of the three said to his bearded partner. They all wore the same uniform with black sweats, a black beret, and gray boots, making them hard to distinguish from one another to Aadon and the Rhyhorn siblings.

"You'll get your turn once my Koffing gets a few hits, Himmler!" said a rather familiar voice. Aadon turned to look at the third member, to whom he had not paid attention very much. The resemblance was uncanny.

"That's the guy I fought yesterday before you two showed up," Aadon muttered under his breath, but loud enough for Jen and Ryan to hear.

"You mean you fended off one of those poachers?" Ryan asked. "So why not do it now? That Ekans is obviously in trouble!"

Aadon couldn't agree more with the situation at hand, but his incident at the mart was clearly dumb luck. "I know, damn it."

"Back off. You got your butt handed to you in a battle with a kid, Herman!" growled the man called Reinard as he took a whip off his belt. "Let me square a few more hits to make this pest suffer for backing us away from that cave! There's obviously more there!"

"He doesn't mean the cave where Mia and Nurse Joy are, does he?!" Ryan grunted, but nervous and angry.

"GOLBAAT!" the Poison type hissed as it flew circles around the Ekans!

"KANS!" the slithery Pokemon replied by throwing its fangs forward weakly.

"EAT THIS!" Reinard yelled as he hit Ekans without mercy, the Pokemon squinting its yellow eyes as it stood tall. "I'll make you suffer for my anger!"

"Fairy," Clefairy said, clenching his small fist.

"I know what you're thinking, Clefairy," Aadon said while holding his Normal type with a tight grip, "but I'm not going to let you exert yourself after that Hyper Beam attack. You're still looking weak from the Mt. Moon incident."

"Mt. Moon?" Ryan thought.

"Fairy," Clefairy said with an angry sigh.

"Yeah, not apologizing for that," said Jen, frustration across her face. "Now stop being TORCHIC and-"

"Somebody's going to pay alright, and it's going to be you!" screamed Aadon as he released his Paras. In the flash of a white light, the Grass type stood ready for battle. "Spore!"

"Paras!"

Taking the shocked faces by surprise, the Grass type released several glowing white spores into the air, and the power of the attack carried them towards the vicious men in black.

"Whirlwind, Golbat!" Reinard commanded. The Poison type shuffled its wings with great rapidity, sending several strong winds towards Aadon and his friends, who took cover behind the rocks. The Spore attack dissipated under the pressure of the attack.

"Quick Attack, Raticate!" Himmler ordered his Normal type. Raticate traversed around the weakening whirlwind, catching both Aadon and Paras by surprise, knocking them both to the floor.

"It's the brat from yesterday!" Herman sneered. "Well, I didn't have to come looking for you after all! Revenge at my doorstep."

"KAns..." the Poison type said weakly on the brink of collapse.

"Ekans is not looking good," Aadon thought, fists shaking. "Why the heck am I doing this?"

"Let's tear him apart as well," Himmler smirked.

"More hunting to go around," Reinard roared in laughter along with his friends. "Let's mince him and then skin that pest."

Aadon stood up, helping his Paras up as well. "Bullet Seed!"

Paras attacked, firing with as much power as could be mustered while running forward. The two Pokemon stood still, able to withstand the power of the attacks while seemingly taking minimal damage.

"Quick Attack, Raticate!" Himmler ordered. Raticate charged forward with a burst of quick speed.

"Dodge now, Paras!" With effective timing, the Grass type narrowly avoided the attack, now on Raticate's left flank.

"Wing Attack!" Reinard ordered his Golbat. Giving Paras little time to recover, the Flying Poison Pokemon swooped into the Grass-Bug type's line of range, its wings ready to attack.

"Careful, Paras!" Aadon yelled, struggling to keeping his cool. "Slash attack!"

The Grass type parried the attack, swiping Golbat across the face and sending it backwards.

"See what I mean?!" Herman yelled desperately.

"Hyper Fang!" Himmler commanded his ferocious rat type quickly. Leaving Paras no time to land on its feet, Raticate sunk its fangs into the Grass type, making it shriek in pain. "Give us more credit, you weakling!"

"Stun Spore!" Aadon ordered, trying to keep himself calm and sure. He knew Paras had strength left in "Come on Paras! You're better than this!"

The Grass type's eyes burst open. Fighting through the pain of its injury, the Grass-Bug dual type released yellow mist into the air, surrounding the Raticate connected to it by teeth and immediately causing enough pain to make the Normal type let go. Paras fell to the ground, somewhat struggling from the bite wound.

"CA-TE!" the Normal type said as static engulfed its body.

"You useless piece of garbage!" Himmler growled. "

Aadon rushed to his Pokemon's side, worried about the bite. "I've got to use the Po-" Then he remembered as he stood his Paras up. His bag remained in the hands of the Cerulean City Pokemon center.

"How could I have forgotten something so obvious?" Aadon thought as he collapsed in front of the paralyzed Raticate and the three goons who stood not too far in front of him."

"Kans..." said the Poison type as it watched from the side.

"We have to go, Aadon!" Ryan yelled, grabbing the attention of the two battling men. "Forget the Ekans!"

Aadon turned to the sibling, making direct eye contact and gritting his teeth all the while. "We're not going anywhere, you damn TORCHIC!"

"That's my trademark, copycat!"" Jen shouted, eyes popping out.

"Okay fine," Ryan said with a nod. "Let's go."

"Fairy!" yelled Clefairy, fingers waving back and forth."

"Not that again," Ryan groaned, sweat painted on his face.

"Who said you can leave?!" boomed Herman, loud enough to echo across the forest and the mountains. "It's over when we say it's over!"

"Paras!" the Grass type shouted, jumping frantically, earning everyone's attention.

"You wanna fight?" Aadon said with a deep stare into his Pokemon's wide eyes, both staring back at him. Though he couldn't understand what Paras was saying, he could feel the vibes of the Grass type. Somehow, he understood every feeling."Fine, I get you." The 14-year-old boy stood up with a smirk, staring directly at his foes.

"No more games! Wing Attack!" Reinard ordered with haste. Golbat flew past the paralyzed Raticate, setting its sights on the Grass type.

"Jump and move!" Aadon ordered. As the Poison Flying dual type swooped in for its attack, Paras jumped, avoiding the hit.

"Raticate, Quick Attack!" Himmler commanded. As the Normal type tried to move, it fell backwards, unable to move from paralysis. "You stupid creature!"

"Slash!" Aadon shouted. Having just fallen to the ground, Paras sprung up once more, aiming it's pincers at the Poison type flying not far around it.

"Whirlwind!" Reinard smirked. Flapping its wings, Golbat once more formed winds, pushing the Grass type backwards uncontrollably. "That all you got?!"

"Quick Attack, Raticate!" Himmler ordered. This time, the Normal type sprang forward, as if abruptly releasing the energy it had been unable to release during the state of paralysis. The Pokemon caught Aadon and Paras by surprise, hitting the small Grass Pokemon across its torso.

"Wing Attack!" ordered Reinard as Paras fell into Aadon's hands injured, but still standing.

"Slash Paras!" Aadon yelled.

"PARASS!" the Grass type yelled as it slammed into Raticate at full power, making Raticate skid several feet backwards.

"Ekans.." the Poison type said as it watched with jaws open, now lying rather still.

"What the heck?

"How is that possible?!" Himmler hollered angrily in disbelief. "Hyper Fang, quick!"

"Karate Chop, Machop!" Ryan ordered from behind Aadon. Striking with precision, the bipedal Fighting-type dealt a blow across Raticate's face, sending it backwards. "That must've hurt double."

"You guys ran away!" Herman said in disbelief.

"You really oughta look more carefully," Ryan beamed, scratching his head.

"I got E-ekans!" Jen's voice said from in front of everyone, making a frantic break for Ryan and Aadon's side.

"Golbat, Wing Attack the girl and the Ekans!" Reinard ordered. Golbat sneered, gliding ahead of Reinard and setting its eyes on Jen and the injured Ekans.

"Kans..."

"I knew they'd see right through this," Jen squealed as she ran faster, Golbat gaining on her.

"Seismic Toss!" Ryan ordered, his Machop making a stand in front of Golbat. The Poison Pokemon came to a full stop, evading the attack by flying laterally.

Then, the Poison type was struck viciously by an attack from behind. "PARASS!"

"G-olbat!" Golbat screamed in clear discomfort, flying back towards Reinard. Raticate took it's side by Himmler, hindered by static.

"So you got my memo," Aadon grinned as Paras and Clefairy joined his side. "Guys!"

"Fairy!" the Normal type smiled, giving both trainers a thumbs up.

"Nah, you just called me a Torchic," Ryan laughed as Machop joined him. "And they weren't playing fair."

"Fair?! What do you call that?!" Herman shouted in anger. "Reinard and Himmler both have 4 more Pokemon between them! You were screwed from the start!"

"Just when I thought the odds were evened," Ryan clenched his fists, ready for the worst.

"Don't forget about Butterfree!" Jen said rather seriously, standing behind Aadon and Jen. Ekans laid behind them, still watching with a strange curiosity despite being wounded quite badly.

"That's still 6 vs 3," Reinard laughed, overhearing their conversation, taking out two Pokemon from his belt along with Himmler.

"I would join in, but a manslaughter might ruin my R&R," a gruff shouted from behind all of the people and Pokemon present, making heads turn.

"Uh, do you have a cold?" Jen asked Aadon, head moving around.

"Why do I bother?" Aadon hit his head with his hand, turning Jen towards the direction of the voice.

Then, across the next blind spot on the dirt path wrapped around the mountain came a rather tall and well-built man with a tattered camo uniform, pacing slowly but steadily towards them. As he got closer, Aadon made out graying blonde hair and black sunglasses reflected the rays of the morning sun.

Unusually, the three men scrambled backwards, now moving backwards in sitting position, Pokemon retreating in suit. Their faces were strangely pale.

Even the two siblings and the 14-year-old boy did not know what to expect, but they didn't feel like running away either. The smile painted on the man's face-much noticeable as he inched to within several feet of the men-did not come off as menacing, but he still looked ready to kill.

Then the man stopped in his black boots, smirking at the three men, and their Pokemon, all of whom could have now easily been mistaken for Gastly.

"It can't be," Ryan laughed, eyes widening.

"It is," Jen cheered, her fists in the air.

"Ma-CHOP!"

Aadon watched on cautiously, Clefairy and Paras by his side. The three men were now kneeling, Pokemon equally afraid. The man took a step forward, and let out a chuckle in his gruff voice.

"I don't think my Raichu would mind some action right now," the man smirked with confidence.

"Lt. Surge," Aadon echoed in his head as he gazed with awe. "The Lightning American."


	16. His Breaking Point

**[Alder Pass-7:39 AM]**

The rays of the sun shined brightly across the sky as a cold morning breeze whipped through the air. Out in the forests far beyond the winding dirt path, dark-grey clouds slowly tumbled past the trees, looking to steal the sun in all their gloom. And there Aadon was, making friends with siblings who seemed to enjoy Pokemon role-playing, and standing face-to-face with dangerous poacher grunts. To top it all off with the icing, the lightning American himself stood in front of him in all his military might, though not as the 14-year-old boy had expected.

"Why are his clothes so tattered, and what's with the bruises?" thought Aadon while looking at the lightning American.

"Surge!" Ryan cheered as Jen jumped joyfully behind her equally-excited sibling. Surge turned his face-looking half-awake-to the siblings and let out a slight smirk. "Return Machop!" Without second thoughts, the sibling returned his Fighting Type, as if showing complete faith in Surge defeating the men and their Pokemon.

"That's me alright, little trooper," Surge reassured, confirming his identity to those around him.

"Surge!" the three men cried at the same time, backing up as pale looks appeared on their faces.

"You know him?" Aadon asked while returning his weak Paras to its Pokeball.

"Fairy?" said Clefairy in mimicry of Aadon's question.

"Don't you know him, Torchic?" Jen reversed the question, irritating Aadon.

"That's not what he meant," Ryan sighed. "After all, who doesn't know the lightning American. I think even these grunts-"

Ryan turned to look at the location of the grunts, only to find it vacant. "What the?"

The others turned their necks toward the sound of running, and there they ran without a second thought, escaping around the bend with their Pokemon.

"That'll teach them not to mess with the Ridin Rhyhorns!" Ryan said with a shout in the direction of the runners.

"They got away!" Jen sighed, clenching her fists. "What a bunch of cowards, picking on the weak."

"Kans..."

"No doubt they're getting reinforcements," Surge said rather tiredly in his gruff voice, hand over the weak Poison type. "Is that Ekans okay, little Jen?"

"What's with his voice?" Aadon thought. "Something's not right with him."

"Not that again," Jen said with a groan. "But-he seems to be okay."

"We need to get him into a Pokeball," said Aadon, taking out Clefairy's Pokeball. "Sorry I have to do this again, Clefairy, but Paras is a little weak from the battle."

"Fairy!" Clefairy smiled with an affirmative nod, climbing on to Aadon's soldier.

"You and your Pokemon sure gel, kid," Surge chuckled.

"There's so much I want to ask you, but I know you're hurt," Aadon stated.

"What do you mean?" shot Jen immediately. "It's Lt. Surge!"

"I'm fine, kid," Surge answered, putting on his best attempt to stay up straight.

"E-Kans..." the tired Pokemon hissed as it was absorbed into Clefairy's Pokeball by Aadon.

"This is for your own good, Ekans," Aadon uttered with a sigh before turning his attention to Lt. Surge. "Come on, we gotta help him up!"

"Glad that's done w-with," Surge said as he collapsed to his knee. "Damn."

"Surge, are you okay?!" Ryan asked out of concern.

"I can manage, little Ryan," Surge replied, an obvious bold-faced lie. "Give me your hand. I know your little sister and Nurse Joy are nearby."

"What could have done this to him?" Jen asked Ryan.

"Just by looking at him, I'm wondering _who,_" said Ryan as he helped Surge up to his feet along with the others. "In any case, let's hope the others get there too. We need Chansey more than ever now."

"Don't tell me he was bluffing earlier?" Aadon shuddered at the thought. "I hope the others aren't having as hard of a go as we are."

* * *

><p><strong>[Alder Pass-6:39 AM]<strong>

Meanwhile-not much more than an hour ago-Jenna, Harrison, and Kendra walked along a path parallel to the mountain road, the changes in elevation placing several stories of rock between their path and the one above. To the left a vast and endless collection of trees created several roads into the deep forest, but Harrison and Jenna knew their destination remained close.

"I reckon it's just around the bend," Jenna told Harrison as she rode along on the back of her Rapidash. Kendra slept peacefully in the back of the cart, though Jenna still worried over her bump across the head. Harrison tagged along on foot, being the most able of the three.

"That's the one!" Harrison exclaimed as the forest turned into a patch of dry grass and a large river with many cascades in the backdrop. The wall face also broke off into an opening with little illumination coming from inside. "How did you know it was here?"

"I gone and traveled down this forest to and fro many times in my life, long before the government turned this place into a _poacher _preserve," Jenna said with a grin.

"Nurse Joy! Mia!" Harrison yelled into the cave as they walked into the wide and damp opening, Rapidash lighting the way. Following the echoing of his voice, several footsteps mixed with the trudging of gravel came from inside.

"Harry!" said Nurse Joy as she stepped out into the opening of the large cave.

"How is she, Nurse Joy?" Harrison asked worriedly.

"She's settled down with some of the berries I've given her, but her fever is still high," the pink-haired lady responded with her head down. "I'm sorry. I can't do much else without the proper medicine or a Pokemon with healing properties at hand."

"It's okay," assured Harrison. "I know you're doing your best. We have a solution!" Now sure of Mia's safety among the poachers who ran wildly, the Rhyhorn sibling turned to Jenna to let her speak.

"I know ya'll are a Pokemon nurse, but could you check this girl and my arm?" Jenna asked, her good arm pointing at Kendra, who slept peacefully in the cart. "We've brought a Chansey with us if that helps any."

"Oh yes!" Nurse Joy smiled. "I'd love to! With Chansey's Softboiled Egg, many things are possible!"

"Let's help Mia first!" Harrison said anxiously.

"Be my guest," Jenna smiled. "We can only hope to Arceus the others aren't going through too much of a hassle."

* * *

><p><strong>[Alder Pass-8:45 AM]<strong>

Hoping to use the trees of the forest as cover, Himmler and Herman sat down among them, but Reinard could not live down his humiliation. "We could have hunted them all down."

"Are you mad?" Himmler chastised. "That's the gym leader of Vermilion City, Lt. Surge!"

"Damn it, I know who he is," Reinard shouted in rage.

"Keep it down, he could still be around here," Herman whispered. "You know our Pokemon could take down anyone when our team is healthy, but that runt-"

"Oh, the runt is going to pay," cut in Reinard, fists clenched in anger. "If he's looking to usurp our profits and be a _hero_, then I know exactly where that Ekans is going."

"You mean the large cave not too far along?" Herman guessed, taking out his communicator. "We'll send in those two drifters we just bailed out of Cerulean City prison. Why get our hands dirty fighting those brats?"

"Agreed," Himmler smirked. "They'll be enough."

"This is squad 7 in, over," said Herman into his communicator, followed by static noise. "We've found the breach from Vermillion City and need backup. Send in the drifters we just busted out."

"Well?" Himmler asked as Herman put down his communicator.

"They're coming," Herman laughed. "Those runts and that washed up soldier are screwed."

"They aren't to be underestimated," Reinard warned. "Send in more-"

Suddenly, the communicator in Herman's hand was whipped away by a powerful wind, knocking the three men backwards in the process.

"Who's there?!" Reinard yelled. "Come out and fight head on if you've got the guts!"

"I'm afraid I can't allow any more men to join the fight," said a demanding baritone voice from the trees above. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Squad 7? Do you read?" the dropped communicator fizzled out, damaged by the fall. "We're sending in more men-"

"Damn," the man grunted as the communicator fell under his feet.

* * *

><p><strong>[Alder Pass-9:10 AM]<strong>

"I can't believe that path made us loop all the way around," Ryan groaned as he helped Lt. Surge up on his shoulders. He and the others alongside him had slowly traversed the forest trail below the mountain road, crossing several shallow streams along the greenery while doing so.

"Do you know which way from here?" Aadon asked.

"Well, Arbok nests have been few and far between since poachers came in huge numbers those couple years back," Ryan responded, looking around. "So it'd be a great help if that Ekans would give us some sort of directional measures in order to carefully locate the cave and not disturb the wildlife and-"

"You're lost," Jen said bluntly, making Ryan go red.

"How'd you get to that?" Aadon questioned blankly.

"He always uses big words to cover up his lack of knowledge," Jen shrugged.

Had Aadon not been so occupied in carrying the gym leader, he would have taken notice to the majesty of the untamed lands around him. Ever so often, Pokemon like Pidgey and Rattata would cross the path and then edge back into the forest, into their own little worlds. For a moment, Aadon could forget the hows and the whys, and just live in the present like he had during his little mishap with Riley back in Viridian Forest.

Clefairy slept soundly on Aadon's free shoulder, but not even the Normal type could sleep through the noise of a shaking Pokeball on Aadon's belt. "Fairy?!"

"What's going on, son?!" asked Surge groggily, starting up from his dazed walk.

"No clue," Aadon shrugged as he threw the Pokeball to the ground. Immediately, the capsule hinged open and in a flash of light, the wounded Ekans took a defensive stance in the grass.

"I don't think I've ever seen a Pokemon exert enough willpower to break through a Pokeball like that," Surge chuckled. "This guy is a little trooper!"

"It really isn't time for compliments right now," said Jen with a sigh.

"Ekans, we're not going to-"

"KANS!" the Poison Pokemon swiped at Aadon as the 14-year-old boy put his hand out.

"Whoa!" Aadon exclaimed.

"We're not like those guys," Ryan tried to explained to the Poison Pokemon, but to little avail.

"KANSSSSSS!" Ekans hissed, slithering backwards with fangs ready to strike at any moment.

"What's her deal?" Aadon asked Ryan as he saw Jen back up quickly.

"Generosity aside, she really has a peeve for all things slithery-and the poison fangs don't help," Ryan explained.

"Use your Raichu and subdue that thing or something!" Jen squealed, hiding behind Aadon and Surge.

"Calm down, Jen," Ryan said while holding her.

"I knew that slithery-"

"Shhh, hold on," Lt. Surge said while motioning his arms to the Rhyhorn Siblings to be quiet. The two turned their heads, watching Clefairy speaking to Ekans.

"Fairy Fairy!"

"KAns Ekanssss!"

"Tell that Ekans how it is-I think," Aadon smiled forcefully, crossed arms detailing his anxiety.

"Fairy Clefairy," the Normal type said, arms motioning as if to explain something.

"Kans?" Ekans replied.

"Fairy," Clefairy nodded, pointing to Aadon, who smiled despite being completely unaware of the exchange.

"Man, they sure seem to understand each other," Ryan whispered to Surge and Jen.

"No man alive may know for sure, but Pokemon of different types seem to be able to talk with each other by birth," Surge explained. "Houndoom, they could turn on us right now if they wanted to in some sort of a big conspiracy..."

Jen sighed as Surge rambled on his gruff voice and turned back to Clefairy and Ekans talking as Aadon stood nervously in front of them.

Suddenly, Ekans turned to Aadon, staring at the 14-year-old intently. Unlike moments ago, the eyes of the Poison type did not have a killing intent.

The eyes seemed vulnerable and child-like-they reminded Aadon of his own not too long ago.

Aadon slowly approached the Pokemon, and this time the Poison type did not back off or get defensive. Slowly, he reached into his pocket and took out a Potion spray. "There's enough left to make you feel better, but it's going to sting a little. Is that okay?"

Whether Ekans and Aadon could understand each other seemed debatable to the others, but after awhile the Ekans gave a slight nod with a small sound, "kans.."

"He's healing it?!" Jen asked, conflicted over her fears. "Well-I guess it's only fair the little guy c-comes after me full force!"

"Will you calm down?" Ryan sighed.

"Unbelievable," Surge thought in amazement. "Very few trainers possess the quality to communicate so easily with wild Pokemon, especially violent ones."

As Aadon sprayed down the Pokemon, it groaned in pain, but then the strain on the Poison type's face mellowed, as did the suffering from the injuries seem to subside.

For a moment, the 14-year-old saw the yellow eyes of the Pokemon open up, but only for a split second as Ekans gave a nod to the rest of the humans and began to slither off the forest trail.

"Ekans seems to be in good enough shape to lead us to the nearby nest," Aadon informed as Clefairy followed Ekans.

"And we're trusting it why?" Jen questioned, obviously exhibiting fear.

"There's only one cave in this area for miles," Ryan explained. "That's the one with the Arbok Nest where we left Mia and Nurse Joy."

"Wildlife Pokemon have no incentive to lie anyway," Surge added, being taken by Aadon on one shoulder and Ryan on another as the group followed the Poison type.

* * *

><p><strong>[Alder Pass-9:30 AM]<strong>

"Kans," Ekans said, standing in front of the cave.

"So this is the cave," said Aadon in awe. "It definitely meets the size standard."

"No kidding," Ryan joked. "Nurse Joy! Mia! You in here?!"

"Arrrbook," a voice echoed from inside, followed by a multitude of several similar voices.

"Y-you mean there's more than a couple?!" Jen questioned, frightened by the inclusion of several similar voices.

"Kans!" another series of voices chanted from within the dark cave, this time sounding unusually different.

"Something doesn't match up," Surge uttered in his usual gruff tone. "The Nurse Joy of Vermillion City is a energetic women."

"What do you mean?" Aadon asked.

"Fairy?"

"I mean she's a bit above the clouds, kid," Surge answered, looking strangely worried. "As light in the head as she may be, she makes up with her compassion and unwavering character."

"I think he may be right," Ryan added. "She's would have come out to greet us the instant she heard our voice, and the cave doesn't even stretch that far back."

"We could use some assistance!" Jenna bellowed from inside. "We've been had by a cattle of runts and two wannabe drifters!"

"Hey!"

"We're _grunts_, not runts!"

"Who are you calling wannabe?! You're just a hag who came straight out of a Flint Westwood film!"

"Is this really the time to be naming films, moron?!"

The voices emphasized themselves over the hollowness of the wide cave, and everyone watched without words. As Aadon and his friends stood baffled, the sound of several footsteps came rushing out towards the entrance of the cave.

"Miss us?" a familiar female voice cackled as two people-a male and a female-stepped out of the darkness and into the light. In the week and several days following his encounter with Ice and Blaze, it proved hard for Aadon to immediately forget the two drifters he had encountered-if not by the man's naturally red hair and the woman's piercing emerald eyes.

"Aren't you Ice and B-Blaze?" Aadon gulped, thinking back to their last face to face encounter near Viridian City-a near massacre had it not been for Warner's timely arrival.

"We didn't get the chance to greet you at Mt. Moon," Blaze replied with a chuckle, "but it sure seems like Octavia did."

The name Octavia was enough to make the 14-year-old boy quiver slightly, but he kept his cool. "Just who do you work for?"

"Since we're about to destroy your Pokemon and basically murder you on the spot as our new job, we'll fill you in," Blaze smirked. "We work for money. After all, a guy and his gal gotta eat!"

Ice slapped Blaze across the head, slightly annoyed. "Can't you at least act persuasive? And when did I become your 'gal'?"

"So you guys are drifters," Ryan surmised.

"The worst scum on the planet," Surge added.

"Shut up!" Ice snapped. "We have one more 'proposition' for the kid and his little Ekans."

"Oh sorry," Blaze continued. "We have one more surprise and a 'proposition' of sorts for you, runt."

"What are you trying to pull?" Aadon questioned.

"CLE-Fairy?!"

As Ice snapped her fingers, a group consisting of many men in black uniforms and their various Pokemon-Zubat, Golbat, Rattata, and Raticate-came out of the cave. Several of the grunts held Jenna, Kendra, Nurse Joy, and Harrison and a much younger girl with brown hair in pigtails wearing a blue jacket over a yellow summer dress. Several more men came out of the caves with many Ekans and a couple of Arbok-obviously the mothers of the nest-using whips to keep the Poison types under control.

"Ya'll made it!" Jenna said with a weak smile.

"Surge!" Nurse Joy cheered, being held.

"Big bro! Big sis!" the girl squeaked.

"Mia!" Ryan and Jen cried!

"Kans!" several of the baby Ekans cried out.

"E-KANS!" the Ekans with Aadon's group cried back.

"Arrrbok," one of the Arbok hissed, bruises and wounds all over. The grunts silenced the Poison types, hitting them with whips.

"S-stop that," Aadon said quietly.

"What was that?" Ice mocked, right ear facing Aadon.

"S-STOP THAT!" Aadon yelled desperately, tears in his eyes.

"Are you gonna cry?" Blaze laughed, allowing the whippings of the Pokemon to continue.

"Our hands are tied. If only me and my Raichu could fight!" Surge yelled.

"Could've, Would've, Should've," Blaze jeered.

"STOP, DAMN IT! IT'S ME YOU WANT!" Aadon screamed, making the grunts laugh harder.

"Kans," Ekans reflected quietly, watching Aadon.

"Correct," Ice responded. "Stop the whipping of the Pokemon, but hold on to the others."

The grunts stopped as Aadon wiped his tears, now on the ground.

"You face us and let us have our revenge and kill you, and we _may_ let your friends go," Ice stated, a grin on her face.

"May?!" Ryan shouted in anger. "Wait till I-" He was stopped by Surge, who watched rather coolly.

"I have no Pokemon ready to fight except Paras," Aadon thought. "Darn it, Paras is too weak right now and I have no Potions left! What do I-"

"Fairy!" Clefairy yelled at Ice and Blaze, walking forward.

"What is that little pink thing doing?" Jenna wondered.

"Shut up!" the grunt holding her yelled, twisting her arm.

"Fairy Cle-Fairy!" Clefairy shouted, right finger pointing at Ice and Blaze.

"No, you're too weak to fight right now, Clefairy," Aadon whispered softly. "Then why are you doing this, damn it?"

"CLE-FAIRY! Clefairy screamed as the Ekans with Aadon's group watched in awe.

"Well, I'll be," Surge exclaimed.

"I don't know what you mean, but your wasting our time _and _money!" Ice yelled. "Dewgong, out!"

"Magmar, hurry this up," Blaze ordered.

In a burst of light from the devious drifter's Pokeballs, the Magmar and Dewgong Aadon had met before stood ready to battle, standing several feet in front of Clefairy.

"DEW!"

"MARRR!"

"No, S-Stop!" Aadon begged, now standing up.

"Run Aadon!" Jenna yelled, grunting as the grunt attempted to quiet her down.

"Forget us, big brother!" Mia yelled, tears in her eyes.

"No, we c-can't leave you behind!" Jen shouted desperately.

"Just go! Please!" Harrison struggled furiously, getting put down on to his knees by the other grunts and lashed.

"Don't!" Surge pleaded.

"KANS!" Ekans hissed, slithering in front of Clefairy.

"Ekans?" Aadon thought as the Poison type slipped in front of him.

"You want some too?!" Ice laughed. "At least my Pokemon get some target practice before we go and collect our sum. Then maybe I'll let the rest of you take a crack at the mess."

The grunts cheered in response, roaring and laughing like mad men.

"Am I really just a coward who should have stayed in Lavender Town?"" Aadon said in his mind, fists shaking and cold sweat rolling down his body. "If I go out there, they'll kill me. If I stay here, they'll kill Clefairy! No, I can't..."

* * *

><p><em>I've...I've done nothing but make everyone around me suffer...<em>

_Everyone I've met has suffered because of me...because..._

_I'm nothing but a coward..._

_I always watch, unable to move because I'm scared, and someone else always saves me._

_I'm scared...I don't want to die..._

_But you Clefairy...aren't you scared you'll die?_

_Why is it that every time I'm scared, you approach the enemy with no fear?_

_You're doing it again right now, knowing you're too weak to put up a fight..._

__Jen...Ryan...Jenna...Kendra...Eric...Dad...Warner...Clefairy...Paras...and Squirtle...damn it all, Squirtle!_  
><em>

__I've come so far...if I back down now, I'll be letting them all down!__

__I won't...I can't...not after what they've done TO MY FRIENDS! __

* * *

><p>"Alright, let's get this over with," Blaze insisted.<p>

"Then do what you will with the other Pokemon-and the kid's friends," Ice added.

"I accept your challenge, scum," Aadon grunted, forcing his body to move forward and stand behind Clefairy and Ekans. "Or maybe you're just too weak to have a _real _battle."

"What did you say, you runt?!" Ice spat out, irritated.

"Aadon, run!" Jenna shrieked.

"Look at him, Ice," Blaze laughed. "He's trying to get under your skin. The kid is sweating and shaking from hand to toe."

"Fairy?" Clefairy said, looking at Aadon.

"Kanssss..."

"I am scared." Aadon admitted, staring at his sweaty palms. "I am scared, dammit. BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN I WON'T STAND UP FOR MY FRIENDS LIKE THEY'VE ALL TRIED FOR ME! Y-YOU'LL KILL ME BEFORE YOU REACH THEM!"

"We'll gladly fulfill your wish," Ice replied sarcastically, clearly annoyed by the 14-year-old boy's words.

"Aadon," Kendra smiled.

"Well I'll be," Jenna grinned. "You get em, young fella."

"Do it for all of us," Ryan told the 14-year-old boy. "You owe us!"

"The kid has some big guts," Surge commented in his mind. "Make them pay."

"I will," Aadon stated, a smirk on his face. "Are you in Ekans?"

"EKAAANS," Ekans smiled, getting into defensive position.

"SQUIRRRRTLE!" a familiar voice yelled from above the cave entrance, as the Water type swooped to the ground below, being caught by Aadon.

"What are you doing here, S-squirtle?" Aadon asked, tears racing down his eyes. "Your wounds-"

"Are completely healed," a baritone voice finished as the feet of a young drifter fell to the ground, now overlooking the grunts and the hostages from behind. "I'll explain later, but Squirtle is completely healed from head to toe and ready to fight."

"Warner!" Ice and Blaze shouted, shocked by the appearance of the drifter.

"W-Warner, I-"

"Finish what you started NOW! I'll take care of the hostages."

"What do you mean 'take care of the hostages'?" Ice quoted angrily. "You're not going any-"

"HEY! Your fight's with us!" Aadon taunted, wiping his tears. "Get ready to pay for hurting my friends!"

"SQUIRTLE!"

"KANSSSS!"

"Fairy Fairy!"


End file.
